Zoe Dallas: Recent Episodes
Zoe Community Church of Dallas
A healthy and happy church is marked by the relationship between its leaders and its people: selfless shepherds who joyfully labor and loving sheep who pursue peace with each other.
You can't sleepwalk through life and actually live. Being prepared for the Day of the Lord means living faithfully today, walking on the right path, ready for Christ's return.
Death does not have the final word, but hope does. We can be encouraged that in the end, Christ will return, he will raise the dead to life, and we will be with him forever.
Though differing eschatological views have long been debated, we can be certain that Jesus will come back again, and his return will change everything.
We are all motivated by our desire for more, but what do we want more of? Christians should desire more of the main thing, which is love, and to aspire to a quiet life of good witness and integrity.
God's desire is for us to be holy. Our sanctification happens through continual instruction from God's Word, which will lead to profound change in our lives even when our circumstances don’t change.
Paul’s prayer for the church is for their spiritual endurance, always trusting God’s plan, growing in love, and being ready for Christ’s return.
Being a Christian involves connection and community. By God's design, the church is comprised of a unity of diverse parts: one body in Christ, all different, but connected.
The work of missions is the central task Christ has commissioned us to do, and it is carried out primarily through the planting and strengthening of churches.
We are created to live in relationship with God, and one another in the church. Of course doing so brings a bit of risk, but it also reaps great reward in the Christian's life.
Paul's concern for the Thessalonians shows us that true care prioritizes others over ourselves, hurts when others are hurting, and desires their faith to be prove true in the end.
Life doesn't always go the way we expect. When Paul experienced trials and obstacles, his future hope enabled him to endure and encourage others to do the same.
Everyone must be prepared for what the Bible says to expect: for those who are believers, the rejection by and opposition from the world, and for unbelievers, the coming wrath of God.
When we hear God's authoritative Word, how do we receive it and respond to it? To the Thessalonians, God's Word was seen as sacred, treated as treasure, and was fuel for their faith.
While the Christian life involves willful sacrifice and a radical reshaping of our character and conduct, in the end the walk is all worth it.
As we are all called to do the work of ministry, Paul gives us three markers that define whether our work is good and pleasing to God: do we walk the talk, do we fear God, and do we actually care?
The gospel radically changes us within, so what is the evidence of such a changed life? Paul commends the Thessalonian church as a model of gospel transformation.
The doctrine of election can be difficult, but God’s choice is a good thing. His selection is specific, powerful, and motivated by love, leading to thanksgiving and glory and praise.
The Christian gospel is salvation by grace through faith, but that which makes us alive in Christ must also produce faith that works, love that labors, and hope that endures.
Join us as we start a new series through 1 Thessalonians! In verse 1, Paul, Silvanus (Silas), and Timothy write to a young church explaining what they need to continue to live and grow together as people who have come together in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
How should we as Christians relate to our parents? To children and adults alike, the fifth commandment to honor our parents still applies for our good today.
As our stewardship series culminates in a special Sunday of giving, the Bible teaches us that the right heart attitude is to worship humbly, to give freely, and to trust in the sovereignty and the goodness of God.
When have been entrusted with God's property to steward. With the one who is faithful, God will be pleased, but one's laziness may reveal the reality of a heart far from God.
Our lives should be characterized by profound generosity when we understand the principle of harvest, the perspective of cheerfulness, the promise of God's abundant grace, and the product of worship.
What shall we do? John the Baptist explains to the crowds that true repentance must result in true transformation, bearing the good fruits of stewardship, generosity, integrity, and contentment.
The view from the end changes our perspective of stewardship in the present. Remembering that Jesus is returning motivates our faithfulness to fight temptation and to use what we have for good.
The story of Peter shows us that that God is in the business of restoration and redemption, because in the resurrection of Jesus Christ, he makes all things new.
Does sacrifice really only lead to resentment? The apostle Paul is an example for us of someone who lived and taught the duty and the blessing of faithful, sacrificial giving.
God is Lord over everything, including ourselves. We are not only stewards, but we are actually servants or slaves of the Lord: unworthy, undeserving, and belonging to him alone.
The book of Haggai causes us to consider our ways and our priorities. To those who would obey and fear him, God promises his presence and his peace.
What we choose to do with our money reveals what we treasure, and what we treasure reveals our hearts. When our hearts are truly focused on Christ as Lord, he will have priority over everything in our lives, including money.
The church is a people who have been set apart for Christ and are under his authority. He is our Lord, corporately and individually, and we must become in practice who we already are in position.
Jesus is the Lord, but what does it mean for him to be your Lord? True faith acknowledges the lordship of Jesus Christ and recognizes that when Jesus says to follow him, he is asking for your whole life.
Stewardship is not about what God wants from us, but what he wants for us. The call to worship and serve him alone is not only a command, it is an invitation.
The wise Preacher concludes by emphasizing God’s authority over all mankind. Ultimately, the wisdom of God our Shepherd should spur us on in faithful obedience and godly living.
Often in life, the way we perceive ourselves is in comparison to others. Jesus teaches that the more important thing is who we are in the eyes of God.
Because the Christian life isn't easy, perseverance in prayer is critical. We demonstrate our faith when we pray, believing that God is doing his will.
The parable of the dishonest manager causes us to take stock of our own faithfulness in stewardship in light of what is truly eternal.
Jesus's most popular parable might also be the most uncomfortable parable, filled with shame at every turn in order to highlight the scandal of grace.
Jesus warns against presumption and teaches us that those ultimately seated at God's banquet will only be the ones who respond to his invitation with humility and faith.
The story about seeking the best seat in the house shows that God's kingdom has different values.
The story of a tree that bears no fruit is a warning that we all need to heed. Jesus teaches that unless we repent and bear fruit, we should all expect to perish!
The story of a man with plenty teaches us of our need to be content and rich towards God.
One of Jesus' most famous parables teaches us about our need to love and be loved. Join us for the next 7 weeks as we delve into stories that teach from the Gospel of Luke!
To know how to live in a fallen world, Christians need to constantly replace the worship of idols with the living God, and resituate ourselves in His gospel story.
Jude closes his book not by looking around, but by looking up at the great realities of Jesus Christ our Lord and Master, and the firm hope that Christians have in Him.
What the church needs in light of the many dangers we will face is mercy. The doubters, drifters, and defilers are all in need of help, and Jude gives us the wisdom we need to do it.
Jude explains that the way we contend for the faith is by keeping ourselves in the love of God. Christians have been loved, and if you heed Jude's words, you too can experience this great, transforming love from God the Father in Jesus Christ.
As long as there are people in the church, there will be problems. But the church is worth contending for because Christ loves the church. Jude addresses true believers and reminds us that by submitting to God's word, preparing for the reality of sin, and walking by the Spirit of God, Christians can and will persevere.
The words of Enoch reveal the judgment against the ungodly, and the reality that false teachers ultimately do not know or please God. Jude shows us how to spot false teachers by laying out their lack of concern for God, and the red flags that inevitably follow.
Nobody likes to be scammed, but scammers are always around in the world, and even in the church. Jude shows us how we can recognize the deceptive pattern of false teachers who would lead us astray, and why it's so important for us to cling to Jesus, the true and better teacher.
False teachers reject the authority of God, and their slanderous words prove it. Jude 8-10 helps us see from the archangel Michael how those who contend for the faith must not make ourselves the judge, but instead always appeal to the judgment of God himself.
One of the primary ways you can know a false teacher is that he or she leads you away from pure and simple devotion to Jesus Christ. False teachers hide the truth that all other paths lead to judgment, but Christians must cling to the truth that it is only in Jesus we find the Way, the Truth, and the Life.
The Bible tells us the "days are evil." But we have reason to have confidence when we share the good news of salvation in Jesus Christ. As we grieve the recent shootings in Allen and simultaneously celebrate God's faithfulness to us, pastor Cory Ishida reminds us of the need to redeem the time with the gospel.Guest Speaker Bio: Pastor Cory Ishida was the senior pastor of Evergreen Baptist Church of San Gabriel Valley for 42 years. Evergreen has a rich history of planting churches and sharing the gospel. 20 years ago, Evergreen that planted Lighthouse Community Church in Torrance, who subsequently planted Zoe in 2015.
In war, we either fight or lose everything. Are we willing to contend for the most important thing? The cause we fight for is the faith: the unchanging message of Christianity that was given once for all.
The book of Jude is a warning to all Christians. It is a necessary warning for us to hear and to heed, because it comes with the Lord's authority and also with the promise of multiplied blessings from the Lord.
The death and resurrection is important to us because we have died with him and have been raised with him. Because our lives are now with Christ, we must no longer look to earthly things, but set our minds on heavenly things.
Palm Sunday and the triumphal entry teach us about receiving Jesus as the rightful king. Being a Christian means dying to ourselves, welcoming the reign of Jesus over us, and honoring Christ as the most important person in our lives.
We all are counselors. Whenever we speak, we have an opportunity and responsibility with our words: do they corrupt or do they build up? The word of God trains us and equips us to be good counselors.
The books of Samuel conclude with a time where David trusted in himself rather than God. As with every sin, there is a great cost for David's self-sufficiency and pride. But while David's story is over, God's story isn't: the Lord will provide Jesus, the King of kings, to save us from our sins, revealing his mercy and grace beyond what we deserve.
Do names really matter? As we continue to consider David's kingdom, we find that the name that David made for himself as king is one that is marked by power and strength, loyalty and love, but also sin and scandal.
The biblical picture of the church is the members of the body using their unique gifts to meet the needs of others, serving one another and ultimately serve Christ to the glory of God. Rather than being motivated primarily by needs or gifting, we first must look to Christ as our example of the ultimate servant leader.
In David’s final words, he imparts to us the wisdom from his life experience: what truly matters is knowing God, fearing him, obeying him, and trusting him to fulfill all his promises in the end.
David celebrates God's deliverance with a psalm. When we dig deeper, we find that it reveals the very things in which God's heart delights: God is pleased and glorified when he is our refuge, when we obey him in faith, when we rely on his power, and when he proves his might to save mankind.
After David nearly dies in battle, God delivers him and the people of Israel in a series of four incredible victories against Philistine giants. Through these feats, we see that the weakness of man does not hinder God’s covenant faithfulness to his people as their true deliverer.
As King David is forced to face a difficult situation brought about by his predecessor, Saul, we see that God is the faithful One who always keeps his promises. Those who break covenant with God are deserving of his just wrath, which is why we all need the eternally faithful King.
What are we supposed to do when things don’t go the way we expect? Do we rebel against God or try to take control ourselves? Or do we respond wisely, seeking and submitting to the will of the Lord? Remember that God is always at work, even and especially in the unexpected.
The responsibility of a king requires faithfulness despite limitations, difficulties, and loneliness. In a series of encounters, David's responses to each of these men show us what it means to do the right thing, while pointing us to our need for a Savior who pardons, judges, and rewards perfectly.
The same report can be both good news and bad news. Absalom’s death is a victory for Israel, but how can David be at peace when his beloved son is gone? But even when there is no easy solution, that doesn’t mean there is no hope. In lose-lose situations, we must remember that nothing is too hard for our Lord who keeps all his promises.
We tend to care a lot about our reputation and our legacy: what people think of us now and what people will remember about us in the future. What we often overlook is the most important thing: what God thinks about you.
The new year is a time when people focus on their physical health. But going beyond that to consider our spiritual health, we must understand what it means to truly live by the word that God has given. His words are all we need to experience the good life.
While we long for the comforts of home at Christmastime, the larger human problem is that our perfect home has been corrupted by sin. The good news of Christmas is that Christ came into our brokenness to welcome us home: into his presence forever.
We might not usually associate Christmas with the ideas of fear and submission, but a deeper look at the gospel of Luke reveals the greater authority with which Christ has come into this earth.
Jesus is so much more than what people think of him this season as a baby. The gospel of Mark shows us that Jesus is from God, heaven breaking through to earth. He has entered into our fallen world and broken humanity, and has called us to go his way.
In the incarnation, we must remember that Jesus became part of a real human family, with a heritage filled with real victories and real baggage. He was born not only into a world of suffering and sin, but into a family legacy of suffering and sin. In his genealogy we see God’s grace from the beginning.
Thanksgiving is one of the qualities of the truly Spirit-filled life, but to have to give thanks always and for everything is indeed a lofty standard. How are we to grow in thankfulness as evidence of our faith?
God us the source of all comfort, and only his comfort is true and eternal. We can trust his promises to come alongside us in our time of distress, to give us courage in the face of suffering, and to provide comfort in such abundance that it will overflow as we share his comfort with others.
Where do you turn in times of difficulty? How can we find peace in the midst of chaos? This chapter describes a stressful time in the lives of David and his friends, and it teaches us to trust not in our own wisdom and plans, but in the God who is in control.
Personal relationships can be the source of our most difficult trials. Although David experiences evils at the hands and the plans of others, he continually entrusts himself to the hand and the plan of God, who is for us and is stronger than anyone who could be against us.
What makes a church a church? Everything we believe, profess, and practice together is founded on the unity that God has called us to as his people.
When we experience the fire of pain and trials, though it may burn and hurt us, it also refines us. Pain is a God-given opportunity to draw closer to Him in trust and in faith.
In this world, deceivers abound who desire to draw away the hearts of the Lord's followers. In studying Absalom's character, we learn how to recognize such people and how to avoid the snare of following after the wrong king.
Walking worthy means balancing the reality of who we are in Christ with the way we live our lives. Namely, our spiritual maturity is evident in how we pursue unity with one another, holding each other up to greater faith.
David, the man after God's own heart, was not perfect. His personal failures, familial failures, and now his kingly failures put on clear display the both sinfulness of man and our need for a true King.
We are all sinners living in a world of sinners. When we are inevitably sinned against, what is our response? Do we justify our anger and bitterness, or do we understand that we may be responding sinfully ourselves, and giving an opportunity to Satan?
While we may be rightly horrified at the sin of David's eldest son Amnon, we also must turn our gaze within and be appalled at the sickness within our own hearts. The only source of our hope and redemption is the true love of the perfect Heavenly Father.
Paul's prayer for the Ephesian church reminds us that it is vital in our own lives that we seek the nearness of Christ, know the immensity of Christ's love, and desire the abundance of God himself in us.
The Bible teaches in Psalm 51 that behind David's restoration was repentance. We'll talk about what repentance really is, what it produces, and why every person needs to ask themselves whether they have truly repented.
As David is confronted with his sin, we are challenged to consider our response to our own sinfulness: do we recognize that God is fully righteous, and are we willing to accept his righteous judgments as good?
When we hear of terrible and horrific things, we wonder, "how did this happen?" As we look at David’s fall, we come face to face with the reality of what is in the heart of every man: the propensity to focus on ourselves and to forget about God, who sees and knows everything.
The story of humanity is that we have each set ourselves against God because we don’t want him to be in charge. But the story of God's Word reveals that we are able to receive God's kindness, to be confident in God’s good will, and to submit ourselves to God's rule.
The story of David and Mephibosheth demonstrates how the steadfast love of God to bring us out of shame and into the family of God.
The parallel psalm to 2 Samuel 8 reveals a bleak backstory. But even in the midst of apparent trials, God is for his people, and he will hear and answer them according to his promises.
Under David's reign, the Lord gives His people great victories over their enemies. But Israel's greatness is not defined only by their successes in battle, but in their consecration for the Lord, and in their administration of justice and pursuit of righteousness as the people of God.
The book of James gives us a picture of what kind of people we should be as Christians. The whole Christian's life is to be nourished by receiving God’s grace with humility, following the pattern of hearing and obeying God’s word.
Would you rather be a king or a servant? David, though king, understands that to be a servant of the Lord is the greatest blessing. As God's people, we serve Him out of our knowledge of and response to His greatness.
In what has been called the loftiest and most beautiful of the psalms, David speaks to his own soul to remind himself of the truths of God's salvation, character, compassion, and kingdom.
When David desires to build a house for God, God reveals in the Davidic Covenant that His own will and purposes all along have been to establish His own eternal kingdom through building the house of David.
David's two attempts to bring the ark of the covenant to Jerusalem result in the death of Uzzah and the derision of Michal. David's failure and his success both demonstrate why it is important that we worship God rightly.
When we are following God’s way, we are bound to encounter opposition from our flesh, the world, and the Devil. But God is in the business of breaking down idols, and He breaks through for us, if we have the faith to seek Him and submit ourselves in obedience to Him.
As Israel is finally united under David’s kingship, an overview of his reign shows us how God fulfills His promises, defeats His enemies, and blesses His people through His anointed one.
After the death of Abner, Israel finds itself in a time of great uncertainty and dismay, which causes us to consider: where do we find our hope? In whom do we place our trust? In times of trouble, do we turn to others, take things into our own hands, or do we truly trust the Lord?
Can there really be peace in this world? What about interpersonal peace in our relationships, or deeper still, peace within ourselves? Our hope in this fallen world comes from understanding and looking to the source of true and lasting peace.
The story of Abner, though his motives are questionable, confronts us with the personal question: whose kingdom will we choose to serve: God’s or our own?
We rejoice together in God's goodness and faithfulness, giving Him all the glory as we celebrate Zoe's 6th Anniversary with a special family service including communion and baptisms.
The fallout of Abner's rejection of David and the Lord shows us our sinful nature, our tendency to multiply that sin, and the consequences that inevitably follow. We all have a dark side, so the Bible points us to hope not in ourselves but ultimately and only in Christ.
Christ is the Risen Lord, and his resurrection from the dead is the most important event in human history. You either think the story is false, and unimportant, or you believe it is true, and infinitely important. How will you respond to Him?
If God is truly the King and in charge, why does it sometimes feel like he is absent? Perhaps there better questions to ask to shape our perspective: Are we listening to the words of God? Do we choose to follow His ways? And will we hold out faithfully until the King returns?
David records for posterity his lament over the death of King Saul. As we see him grieve over the shame, the loss, and the pain of the situation, it all points us to our need for a greater King who is more glorious, more mighty, and more loving than we can imagine.
What does it mean to be good? David's reaction to the news of Saul's death exemplifies how our goodness is demonstrated by our actions. After all, what we do with what we have defines who we are. But can anyone be truly good?
Jesus loves the church with a love both undeserved and incomprehensible. He loved us while we were still sinners, and gave his life for the church when she was unlovely. As we explore the idea that Christ's love for the church is the model for husbands and wives, it becomes clear that church isn't about just being together, but about having a true relationship with Jesus.
Ultimately, the church does not belong to us; the church belongs to God. He is the owner, cultivating his field and causing all the growth. However, we also have the responsibility to participate in the work as God's servants, to build up the body and to be built up ourselves as part of God's building.
In calling us the household of God, scripture shows us how we are to view and relate to one another in the church. We are all imperfect, and there will be sin and conflict, but our call together is to experience the incredible blessing of being a part of God's own family.
Unity the church is not uniformity. Our God-given differences are both important and useful when we recognize and use them to fulfill God’s purpose and design for us within the church body.
What does it mean for the church to be a body of Christ? Just as the health of our own bodies is important to us, Christ cares about the health of his church and has called us in scripture to be a united, growing, and maturing church.
What is truth? In a world where that views truth as subjective, variable, and unknowable, the church stands in a unique position to declare that the truth, founded in the one true God alone, is as solid and unchanging as God himself. The call to the church is one of steadfast faithfulness to firmly uphold the truth that has been revealed to us through Christ.
The church being a flock is not a flattering metaphor when we understand what it means to be like sheep. But the point of the comparison is that it points us to our need for the good Shepherd himself. Throughout history and into eternity, God has designed, desired, and defined the means by which he lovingly shepherds his people.
Many people have sought the secret solution to improving church, adapting to the culture, and staying relevant. However, Paul reminds us that a church must not stray from this fundamental truth: that the dwelling place of God is with man. God's Spirit dwells in us, and we are God's temple.
What is the church? What is its focus, and what does it look like? In this introduction to a series on the biblical metaphors of the church, the foundational truth we must return to is that the church must be centered on Jesus Christ alone.
Where we end up in life is determined by what we do right now; our trajectory affects our destiny. As we conclude our study of 1 Samuel with the death of Saul, we find that his ending, while tragic, is not at all surprising.
Bad things happen to everyone. When we encounter trials and tribulations, what distinguishes us as faithful is our response: will we choose to reject God or to turn to him in faith and obedience for restoration?
When David finds himself on the wrong side of the battlefield, his situation prompts us to ask ourselves how our lives have gotten to this point. How are we reaping what we have sown in the past? As we consider the new year, we must consider what needs to change in our lives, and remember what hope there is in the gospel for all our sin and guilt.
As we consider the brevity of life and the Christian's future hope in God's promises, we turn to the apostle Peter who shows us what it means to live faithfully and what it means to be truly effective and fruitful in this lifetime.
Oil of myrrh was a fragrance encountered throughout Jewish life for a variety of purposes. As the third gift to the newborn baby Jesus, it points to the fullness of Christ's humanity and the very reason he came as incarnate man: to give up his life on the cross for us.
The gift of frankincense was a tangible reminder of the proper worship of God in His temple. Christmas is not about respecting Jesus as important, but worshiping Him as God.
As familiar as the Christmas story is, we've probably gotten some details wrong, and definitely have not understood deeply enough the weight of the glory of Christmas. The magi's first gift of gold not only rightfully worships Jesus as King, but also points to a gift far greater than gold itself.
We gather to celebrate God's goodness and respond to his great works with thanksgiving, which is his command and his will for every believer.
The reality of life is that it ends. Tomorrow is not promised for any of us, and death can come at any time. As Saul faces the reality of his own impending death, we see that it is possible to seek God's plan without actually desiring to follow God's will. In the end, will we be found to be faithful followers of God, or will he say he never knew us?