Citizens Weekly: Recent Episodes
Citizens Church BCS
Citizens Church exists to saturate Bryan-College Station, TX with the good news of Jesus. To learn more about Citizens Church, visit us online at citizensbcs.com.
Jesus' brief story of the Two Sons in Matthew 21 challenges His audience's recognition of Him while offering us, Gospel readers, a call to intercede for those we love who have lost sight of Him.
Parables featuring banquets and feasts remind audiences that the Kingdom of God is a party we do not want to miss. Are our expectations of this Kingdom party appropriately high? If not, let's accept God's invitation to raise our expectations.
In Matthew 18, Jesus reveals what the Kingdom of Heaven is like: a King overflowing with mercy who forgives an impossible debt, and a people transformed by that mercy. Those who truly understand the magnitude of God's forgiveness walk in humility, repentance, and forgiveness toward others. Unforgiveness, pride, and bitterness keep us bound, but those who receive grace and extend it to others live in the freedom of the Kingdom. This message explores the parable of the unforgiving servant, the humility of biblical heroes like Joseph, David, Mary, and John the Baptist, and the call for every believer to receive God's mercy and release others from their debts. The evidence of having experienced God's mercy is showing mercy to others.
The Parable of the Ten Virgins is read best alongside Jesus' concerns for His disciples in Matthew 24. We also do well to consider this parable through biblical definitions of "wise" and "foolish" as displayed in Proverbs. In such readings, we find this parable to be less about what we do for God and more about how well we receive God's Goodness towards us, made available through His Son Jesus Christ and granted by the Holy Spirit. Only His Goodness can entice us to seek zealously the oil of His friendship.
Parables, like all good metaphors, work best when their comparative elements are unexpected and novel. While the parables of Jesus may have grown familiar to the point of white noise for many believers, listening to them afresh through the ears of Jesus's audience, with all their narrative and theological expectations, may help us experience Jesus's teaching as He intended.
As we begin our summer series on the parables of Jesus, Kathryn sets the stage for how we’ll handle these well-known passages of scripture over the coming weeks.
Together, we look at three things this week:
What is a parable?
How should we approach and read them?
The Parable of the Sower
On Palm Sunday, we explore the surprising way Jesus revealed His kingship—not through power, but through humility. As the Church enters Holy Week, we ask a deeper question—not just who the Holy Spirit is, but what He is saying to us right now. This episode is a call to reject pride, embrace humility, and live from the Father’s approval rather than striving for our own.
Some people may falsely believe that the Holy Spirit is a rogue agent doing His own wild, dramatic, attention-seeking thing apart from Jesus the Son and God the Father. Nothing could be further from the truth. By looking at three scenes of Paul "filled with the Holy Spirit" in Acts 13 and 14, we see reflections of both Jesus the Son and God the Father. In this examination, we find the Holy Trinity in concert, singing the same song, telling the same story, enacting the same glorious (and sometimes painful) redemptions into the Earth.
The Holy Spirit Himself is the greatest gift to us. He always comes with the Father's love. How do we receive this great gift of the Holy Spirit? Find out as Steph takes us through scriptures that point to the simplicity of being receivers in light of such an extravagant God.
In Holy Spirit Part 2, we go deeper into who the Holy Spirit is and why He was given. From Genesis to Pentecost, we see that God has always been inviting humanity into His life of love. Before power or gifts, the Spirit’s primary purpose is to draw us into the love of the Father through the Son—and to remind us that we are deeply loved children of God.
As we begin our new series on the Holy Spirit, this message is both a warning and an invitation. Jesus looks for fruit, not just religious activity. Through the fig tree, the parable of the ten virgins, and stories of genuine revival, we are confronted with the danger of spiritual autopilot and the necessity of living with oil in our lamps.
After a prolonged season of prayer and fasting, as Citizens shared for 21 days in January, we may turn easily back to life as usual, meaning to old appetites as usual. However, prolonged fasting produces in us new wine not fit for old wine skins. For this reason, we would do well to invite the Holy Spirit to examine our appetites, even frequently, for anything less than nourishing and less than righteous. Will we allow Jesus to root out of us the gross natural inclinations that defile us? Or will we be content hungering for worldly pleasures and applauses that distract us from His eternal Kingdom?
Good stories are worth revisiting. The Acts 9 story of Saul's conversion—familiar to most Bible readers—welcomes a fresh reading from a different angle, looking less at Saul and more at the supporting cast of characters who each play significant roles in one of God's wilder moments of dramatic irony. Who could have expected God to redeem the enemy? And to do so through the brave actions of the local Damascus Church body? Surely, with their model in mind, what might this Redeemer do through us for the unsavory Sauls in our own lives?
In our second week of First Fruits, Kathryn teaches on undivided worship. Together, we identify potential altars we may have built up in our hearts in addition to Jesus. Looking at the lives and worship of King David and King Solomon brings us to this question:
Will we be like David and tear down altars, or will we be like Solomon and accommodate them?
In this first Vision sermon of the First Fruits series, we are reminded why we exist, where God is leading us, and why we are fasting. As culture shifts into a post-Christian, deeply lonely age, Jesus is inviting us into a renewed focus on creating disciples—not primarily through programs or preaching alone, but through relational proximity.
In this Advent teaching, we explore the third prophetic throne name given to Jesus: Everlasting Father—a King whose rule is marked by protection, provision, identity, and comfort. Rather than relating to Jesus as distant or conditional, we’re invited to experience His fatherly love towards us as present, personal, and unending- right now! This message calls us to stop striving, receive our true identity as beloved sons and daughters, and rest in the security of a fatherly King who never leaves.
Isaiah 9 speaks of a child who will be called: Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Listen as we explore the might of our God and the two places of guaranteed access to his power and strength.
We begin Advent with an introduction to the season and an exploration of how the child given to us in Isaiah 9, this Wonderful Counselor, is the same conquering King praised in Heaven as "the LORD God Almighty who was and is and is to come" (Revelation 4:8).
In this teaching, we dive into the life-changing message of Isaiah 61 and explore what it truly means to live as people anointed, restored, and empowered by God. Jesus declared this passage fulfilled when He announced that the Kingdom of God had arrived—not as a distant hope, but as a present reality breaking into the world through Him and now through us. We look at how the gospel is not merely an escape plan but an invitation to bring heaven to earth, carrying healing, freedom, and restoration wherever we go. You’ll be encouraged to lay down false identities, reject the lies of the enemy, and embrace the truth of who you are in Christ: an oak of righteousness, a priest of the Lord, and a carrier of the same Spirit who raised Jesus from the dead. This teaching invites you to remember who you are and step with boldness into the calling and authority God has given you.
"…to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of joy instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair.
They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the Lord for the display of his splendor.
They will rebuild the ancient ruins and restore the places long devastated…"
We could easily read Isaiah's message of hope as singularly directed to ourselves and our individual moment. However, gaining a clearer picture of how Isaiah offered his prophecies and how they may have been received broadens the possibility of our hope.
The Servant came to bring good news for the poor. Jesus came for the poor, the needy and the wanting and longs to use us to reach his lost sheep.
Nick dives deep into the reality of spiritual warfare—specifically the demonic strategies aimed at God’s people. Drawing from Luke 4, we see Jesus in the wilderness—hungry, tested, and targeted by the devil himself. Yet, He stands firm.
From 1 John 1 and 2, this sermon explores practical means and behaviors every believer can engage to keep satan and his forces at bay.
The Israelites had left Egypt, but now God wanted to get Egypt out of them. Like them, we are deeply shaped by the culture and environment around us. Scripture calls us not to conform to the patterns of this world—but how do we actually do that? What is the world trying to form in us? Why are so many Christians unknowingly influenced by it? And how do we remain unstained by the world without retreating from it?
After defining the Kingdom of God and watching it unfold throughout Scripture, we would be wise to examine the ways we attempt--falsely and rightly--to advance God's Kingdom in our personal and shared domains. In 2025, let us not be enticed to rely on America's carnal weapons (ie. cultural or political fervors) to establish a Kingdom of "righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit." His Kingdom is an everlasting Kingdom. Not a blip of instant gratification.
Scripture is clear about the role of spiritual conflict in our flesh. What encompasses our flesh and how do we win in the battle against ourselves?
Week 2 of our fall series, Kingdom Tensions, focuses in on the tension between spirit and flesh, with a focus on the spirit. The week, we answer three questions:
1. What is our spirit?
2. Why does it matter that we have one?
3. What do we do with it?
This series will lay the foundation for our upcoming exploration of Kingdom Tensions. Life in the Kingdom is full of tension—because when we say yes to Jesus, we step into conflict. We find ourselves in tension with our flesh, moving against the grain of the world, and standing opposed by the enemy himself. But tension isn’t always bad—in fact, it’s often what holds things together (like a shower curtain stretched between two points). It’s within these sacred tensions that we discover how to remain faithful for the long haul.
There’s something powerful about hearing the Word read aloud together. No extra commentary, no distractions—just the simplicity of the gospel and the beauty of letting it stand on its own.
This week, listen along as 13 people from our community read straight through Mark 14–16—the story of Jesus’ betrayal, crucifixion, and resurrection. The simple gospel that still speaks today!
In this weeks sermon, we examine the contrast between the prideful teachers of the law and the humility and faithfulness of the poor widow in Mark 12
We can become easily distracted in Gospel narratives by topical issues. For instance, in Mark 10, a question posed to Jesus about divorce may draw our attention away from the story at hand towards theological issues. However, Mark did not write a theological treatises. He wrote stories about Jesus illuminating His identity as the Son of God. So what does Jesus' conversation with Pharisees about divorce reveal about His Sonship and His ultimate mission to establish His Father's Kingdom on earth?
For 8 chapters, Jesus has been doing and saying things that leave people asking the question of who he is. A unique encounter with a blind man helps set the stage for a major turning point in the life and ministry of Jesus and forces the crowds and his disciples to answer this question: Are we seeing Jesus clearly?
A posture of pride kept the Pharisees from experiencing Jesus for all He was. In Mark 7 and 8, we see humble faith allow strangers and friends to know the good authority He was and still is. May we be people of humble faith.
Mark 6 is packed with stories at the pinnacle of Jesus’ ministry. Embedded in each of those stories is a theme of doubt and unbelief. What we discover is that there are different degrees of doubt and with each, a different posture of God’s heart.
Mark 4:35-5:43 includes four familiar stories of Jesus. He calms the storm, restores a demon-possessed heals a woman, and raises a dead girl. This week, Kathryn walks through each of these stories with the hopes of reminding us that the Jesus we read on these pages is the same Jesus who we know today. You may see yourself in one of these people who encounters him- and if so, he wants to respond to you.
Jesus repeats himself: listen! What gets in the way of us listening and receiving? Join as we walk through one of Jesus’ most important parables: the parable of the sower.
As we continue through the gospel of Mark chapter 2 through 3:6, we see Jesus responding with compassion and demonstrating authority. In opposition to the religious rulers of the time, where Jesus is, it seems he continually shows us that we need to make more room if we want all of Him. It takes us stretching and stepping towards Him in faith- and He always responds to the ones that know their need.
Josh continues the Gospel of Mark summer sermon series with the start of Jesus' ministry. He first orients us on the gospel, both the Church's Gospel today and also the good news which Jesus taught at the start of his ministry. He then gives an overview of four types of Jewish groups and their strategy for dealing with the big problem of their day. Then he quickly treks through the remainder of Mark 1, summarizing what Jesus did at the start of his ministry. Finally Josh looks at Jesus' call to repent and what that would mean for each of the four Jewish groups, as well as for us today.
Launching our summer series, Kevin explores introductory pronouncements about Jesus from Mark 1:1-13. Some truths about Jesus proved too complex for even the disciples to understand until after His resurrection. A central question in Mark's Gospel, illuminated from the outset, is "Who do you say that I am?" As Citizens embarks on our first Gospel study together, we would do well to consider, as the disciples often did, how we have kept our conception of Jesus small, convenient, and even self-reflective. Are we prepared to see Jesus for who He truly is?
This week wraps up our spring series on spiritual gifts, and Kathryn finishes up with three powerful Word Gifts: apostleship, teaching, and exhortation. Rooted in Ephesians 4, we take a look at what these gifts are (and what they aren’t), how they function in the life of the Church, and how they’re meant to build up the body of Christ—not as titles or ranks, but as ways we serve one another in love. If you’ve ever felt called to start something new, to open God’s Word and help others understand it, or to speak truth that lifts and steadies people’s faith, you may have been given one of these gifts! Listen in as we close out our spring together!
Nick teaches on the spiritual gifts of pastoring, evangelism and leadership. How do you know if you have these gifts and how should you use them? Nick also talks about the moment of church we are in and how to respond during the whispers of revival.
A discussion regarding Gifts of Miracles and Intercession begins with a discussion of compassion. Christ was moved with compassion for the crowds. Likewise, the hope for Miracles and the lean into Intercession must be fueled by Christ's compassion in us.
Join us on Resurrection Sunday as we read about Jesus on the Road to Emmaus and what the cross and empty tomb means for us today.
This week, Kathryn teaches on two more of the power gifts—faith and discernment of spirits—and how they operate in real life. These gifts are meant to strengthen the Church and reveal God's power in supernatural yet practical ways. Learn what these gifts are, how to recognize them in yourself and others, and explore the shadow sides of each. Whether you're just discovering your spiritual gifts or looking to grow in them, this conversation will helpful for you.
As we continue our series on Spiritual Gifts, we find two Gifts that rely primarily on a willingness to faithfully and prayerfully engage the potentially miraculous moment. We also consider our own modern day Bryan-College Station through the lens of Ancient Corinth.
In this message, we continue our series on spiritual gifts by diving into tongues and the interpretation of tongues. What does Scripture actually say about this gift? Who receives it, and how should it be used in the church today?
This week at Citizens, we dive into the power gifts, beginning with prophecy and words of knowledge. What does the Bible say about prophecy? How is it meant to function in the life of a believer and the church today? We’ll explore Old and New Testament examples, Paul’s instruction to the early church, and how to faithfully use and test prophetic words in a way that builds up and strengthens the body of Christ.
Welcome to Week 5 of our series on Spiritual Gifts! This week, Kathryn dives into the "Love Gifts," focusing on Administration and Giving. Administration, like a helmsman guiding a ship (1 Cor. 12:28), ensures the church’s vision is carried out, supporting leaders and creating order. Giving (Rom. 12:8) goes beyond financial generosity—it’s a deep joy in sacrificial giving. While all believers are called to give, those with this gift find fulfillment in radical generosity. Both gifts are essential for building up the body of Christ. Do you feel called to organize, support, or give joyfully? If so, God may be calling you to embrace and grow in these gifts for His Kingdom!
As we begin exploring individual spiritual gifts, we set the stage by discussing how love is the most excellent way. Without love, our gifts are empty and powerless. We examine how the church needs a balance of love gifts, power gifts, and word gifts to function as a healthy body. We also explore the dangers of using our gifts without abiding in Christ and developing godly character. What does it mean to truly love as Jesus loves? How do we stay rooted in His presence while walking in our gifts?
Faith is a gift available for everyone. Everyone should want this gift, but all won't receive it. Faith is the foundation for the Christian life and is simply defined as "believing". Once faith is evident in your life, you enter into Covenant w/ God. We see this in the life of Abraham in Genesis 15.
In this second installment of our series on the Spiritual Gifts, Kevin clears up two major misconceptions regarding the Holy Spirit, specifically that the gifts were a passing moment in Church history. We also consider Jesus' interactions and descriptions of the Holy Spirit, which assure us He is the Helper we need to live a Kingdom-centered life.
We are so excited to be kicking off our spring series: Spiritual Gifts. Over the course of this semester, we want to define where Citizens stands on spiritual gifts for believers today, build linguistic unity around the gifts for us as a body, clarify the characteristics of and uses for each of the spiritual gifts, help people identify what their spiritual gifts are, and empower people to begin using their gifts in the context of church specifically.
This week, Kathryn covers the following four big questions to kick us off:
What does Citizens believe about spiritual gifts and why?
What are spiritual gifts?
How do we get them?
Why do we need them?
Join us in listening as we step into this new season of church together!
One of the largest parts of Jesus ministry was healing and as followers, ours should look the same. Where is his heart for my healing? What happens when it doesn’t come?
Citizens is kicking off 21 days of prayer, fasting, and consecration. This week, our lead team discussed and answered some FAQ’s in hopes of bringing clarity and vision around each topic as we begin this season together.
Join us as we cast vision for 2025 and explore where God is leading our church in the year ahead.
Join us as we discuss how a child in a manger is one of the greatest pictures of love in all existence and what it means for us today.
The angels sang Joy to the world for a group of shepherds at the birth of a baby in the city of David. But removed two thousand years, and separated by more than that many miles, we need to ask: what is so joyful about Christmas? We answer by digging into the context of the birth of Jesus through a series of questions: Why did Israel need a Messiah? What did Israel expect from a Messiah? And what type of Messiah was Jesus of Nazareth? The answers to these ground our joyful celebration of the birth of the promised Messiah.
At Christmas, the world sings in hope for Peace. But do people really know what Biblical Peace—Shalom—is or what it entails? According to the Scriptures, Shalom is the result of righteousness, which is the foundation of God's throne. Only when matters are brought into agreement with God's righteous order can true Peace be found. In this sermon, Kevin Still explores what Biblical Shalom looks like, and how it may often look very different than our common definitions of civil peace.
As we start the Advent season, we begin with Hope. What is true and biblical hope? Hope always starts with God, Hope is fostered by His word and Hope is powered by the Holy Spirit!
We explore Jesus ideal profile of a deeply rooted person: children. As children in his perfect love, we are set free from the grip of the spirit of fear.
Is the gospel still good news?
In the midst of heartbreak, uncertainty, and days that are overfull but unfulfilling, it can be easy to wonder what good the gospel is for life today. Sure, there’s the promise of eternal life someday, but what about right now, when disease, broken relationships, shame, regret, and countless other burdens weigh you down?
If it feels like something important is missing from your life, chances are it’s because you’ve only heard part of the gospel. The promise of Heaven, although beautiful, is not all there is to being a follower of Jesus.
As we explore what’s missing from the familiar gospel story, you’ll discover . . .
Why God created the world and everything in it, including you.
What your calling is and how to live it out.
Why knowing Jesus matters right now—today.
As part of our Deep Roots sermon series, Kathryn focuses on prayer and its vital role in the life of a believer. Prayer is not just a ritual, but a powerful and relational practice that nurtures spiritual growth. Whether we’re new to prayer or seasoned, God invites us into conversation with Him. We explore the following questions together:
What is prayer?
Why should we pray?
How do we pray?
Nick teaches on Luke 7 and explores three people to learn from: the centurion, the widow and the woman with the alabaster jar. Each displayed things that moved the heart of Jesus: faith and authority, generational loss and becoming a pure and empty vessel. Jesus is inviting us into a life of becoming a pure and empty vessel for him.
People with Deep Kingdom Roots know they have a real-enemy--named Satan--and they have a correct Biblical understanding of his schemes. Such an understanding allows them to consider Satan's reality soberly while not living in fear of him or his demonic forces. So how do we recognize his schemes? Scripture offers one easy method for discerning his voice and tactics: consider his names.
Those with Deep Roots are faithful stewards of what God has given them. By looking at the lives of Joseph and David, we are reminded that God uses the context of our current circumstances to prepare us for future opportunities and purpose in our lives.
Every deeply rooted & spiritually mature person has a deep relationship with the Holy Spirit and operates in the gifts that He gives. Who is the Holy Spirit? What gifts does he give?
God is always most concerned about our hidden lives with Him. As we become more and more rooted in the soil of the Love of God (Ephesians 3), we grow less concerned with the accolades of the world. These deep roots are marks of maturity in Christ, rooted and connected to others for lifelong growth.
Our bodies can be tired and weary.
Our hearts can be tired and weary.
Our very souls can be tired and weary.
So what do we do if we find ourselves in this place?
This week, Kathryn walks us through Matthew 11, where Jesus invites us into deep soul rest with him.
Come
Take
Find
Go
Pastor Hunter Hambrick from Providence Bible Church in Denver, CO shared how God wants us filled to overflow with God’s power, love, and presence. Listen to how Paul’s prayer in Ephesians 3:14-21 can give us a vision for living a deeply rooted life.
90% of Jesus‘s life was unseen. The same will be true with anyone who seeks to be a deeply rooted and mature believer. Join us as we explore what it means to embrace seasons of obscurity.
Spiritually mature believers pursue (often beg for) Christ's compassion, allowing it to fuel their work in expanding His Kingdom.
The deeply rooted and spiritually mature believer is constantly eradicating anything that would steal their worship.
After establishing the principle of “right knowing is the basis for right doing” and conducting a high-level overview of Hebrews 12, we took a deeper dive to unpack the exhortation to look to Jesus as our example as we run the race the race of life that’s been marked out for us.
We answered the questions: Why do we run, how do we run, and who we should run the race of life with.
Our Spiritual DNA, as believers in Christ, is the list in Hebrews 11. Will we take our places in this faith-filled story story to live with resolve and build the kingdom of God in this time?
Christian maturity begins the moment we agree with God's declarations about Himself and about us. According to His Scripture, Christ took away our sins, establishing His holiness and perfection inside of us. What does this mean for us in real time? How can we live in agreement with God's declarations when we still sin and experience earth-bound affections? Hebrews 10 helps us consider as much.
In chapter 9 of Hebrews, we explore why Jesus’ blood is always better than our own sacrifice.
Hebrews 8 introduces Jesus as the mediator of a new and better covenant based on better promises. But before we talk about the new covenant, we must talk about the old covenant. But we cannot talk about the old covenant until we understand what a covenant is in the first place. And to understand the idea of a covenant, we have to understand why God made covenants, and to understand that, we have to go back to the very beginning and learn more about YAHWEH- the covenant making, covenant keeping God of Israel.
In this sermon we examine the character of Melchizedek, the necessity of Christ, and the sufficiency of His sacrifice.
An encouragement to step into spiritual maturity. A challenge to grow up, be warned, and press on.
In Hebrews 5 the author steps back from looking at Jesus as a superior priest to admonish the recipients for being dull of hearing and exhorting them to move on from milk to the solid food that signifies maturity. Josh works through the Hebrews 5 use of Psalms 2 and 110 to illustrate what the author expected of the listeners. Josh then works though his testimony of how he grew his own understanding of Scripture, and closes with recommendations for all parts of the Church, beginner, intermediate and mature, to grow through Bible study and memorization.
Hebrews 4 sounds like a gloomy warning to the early church, but at its core, it is an encouragement and a call to action to band together as the church to not miss out on God’s promised rest. It is freely offered to us today and we must strive together to receive it.
The author of Hebrews reminds readers that Jesus is superior to every trustworthy, praiseworthy, truth-speaking voice they may be tempted to exalt in their era of persecution. This is a good word for the Hebrews audience, as well as the modern American Church and even Citizens church. As culture (nationally and locally) shifts and changes, enduring together in confident pursuit of Jesus' glory assures we can be His house that hosts His presence. What could be superior to that?
We jumped into our Summer Hebrews study by covering some Hebrews 101. Who is the author writing to and what’s their context?! Then we covered the first two chapters and saw Jesus magnified as Prophet, Priest, and King… better than angels… and worthy of our closest (or undivided) attention!
The final ‘fox’ that has power to ruin true loving relationships with both God and everyone else in our lives is Unforgiveness. Steph Lee takes us through the scriptures to show the real impact of forgiveness and the hard truths about unforgiveness. Fruitful lives full of freedom and wholeness are at stake and our generous God stands ready to forgive and empower us in our journeys.
This week, Kathryn teaches on the little fox of comparison. How does Jesus address it? What does it do in our hearts? And what can we actively do to keep this little fox from ruining the fruit of our hearts and souls? All things we need to know if we are to live like Jesus, a life of non-comparison.
Brian Lee takes us on the journey of Jesus and one of his biggest opponents: the religious elite. This religious spirit is a performance-based, self-centered, critical and legalistic way of thinking that chokes out peace, joy and freedom in the life of a believer. Jesus has a better way: freedom.
Nick explores the theme of Discord within the Body of Christ. Two types of discord infect: within the church family and between different churches. How do we protect from the little fox of discord that robs our fruit as believers? How do we become a people that fights for our unity in the house and between congregations?
As people of Truth living in a world of lies we should expect offenses or offensive ideas to assail us regularly. How do we remain undefiled people of Peace in such situations? Jesus speaks about the corrosiveness of anger–how it eats an individual from the inside out, eventually degrading our families, neighbors, and communities. Spiritual maturity helps us use the tool of our emotions, including anger, to positively address the offenses of this world. Gaining such maturity requires repentance, surrender, faith, and lots of patience.
This week, Kathryn continues our sermon series on the Little Foxes with a teaching on Apathy in Worship. What is apathy? How does the Bible define worship? Who is called to worship and how are we supposed to do it? Kathryn calls Citizens up to be a church that worships corporately, earnestly, and expressively. Why? Because worship makes us behold the Lord and shifts our disordered desires, it completes our delight, and because it keeps us close to Jesus. Most importantly, we worship simply because he is worthy of it.
Scripture instructs to rid of the little foxes that spoil this vine. How do we rid of the little fox that is the orphan heart. How does taking the identity of a servant, slave and orphan keep us from our true identity and intimacy with the Father? How do we allow the wounds of rejection to be healed?
On Resurrection Sunday we explore the implications of Jesus' resurrection for our lives today. What is the depth of God's invitation to us through Jesus Christ?
On Palm Sunday, we recognize our humble King Jesus, but do we have any idea how to really relate to a King? Jesus never has to earn his kingship. He is the King. Always has been and always will be. He longs to be our friend, brother, counselor, shepherd, but he will not be any of these things until He is our King.
American men are at a precarious crossroads, and many men–even in the Church–choose preoccupation with childishness over acceptance of God-defined “masculinity”. Men’s restoration will be found in gazing on Christ’s model as the ultimate man and in answering the Apostle Paul’s call, to all men, to serve the Church as Christ served the Church, surrendering His life fully to her.
This week, Nick explores week 4 of Lent with John 6 and the feeding of the 5,000. Jesus teaches about being the bread of life and seeking himself, the provider, over provision.
This week, Kathryn leads us through Ephesians 5:1-14 as we join the global Church in the season of Lent. What does the Word say, what are the implications, and what should we as believers do because of it?
This week, the leadership team announced the updated mission and vision of Citizens church. We also discussed our church values, including our biblical stance on relevant and important topics.
This week, Nick began our short series on the vision for Citizens Church in BCS. What does Jesus say about the church and the Kingdom and what does that mean for us today?
This Sunday, Kathryn continued our study of the Gospel of John in our season of prayer and fasting. We pause this week in John 14. Why did Jesus mention the Holy Spirit (at length) twice during the Last Supper before his death and resurrection? Because the Holy Spirit is an essential part of the life of a believer. Who is he? What does he do? And what does that mean for each of us today? Let’s find out together.
God’s glory is the manifestation of His radiance and power. We cannot look directly upon God, so God makes Himself perceivable in His glory. As a church body currently in a season of fasting and reading the Gospel of John, God’s glory is a pertinent theme. How can we better recognize God’s glory? And, in doing so, how might we more fully receive His grace?
Our Citizens leadership team joins together for a panel discussion about the practice of fasting.
God offers one thing to those that choose a life and path saturated with humility: grace. Jesus went against the grain of His culture by choosing this path and so can we.
As believers, we know that happiness is a reaction to something great, but Joy is the product of someone great. To know the Gospel creates the greatest possible joy in the human heart. Advent contains within itself the crucial balance of the now and not-yet that our faith requires: the disappointment, brokenness, suffering and pain that characterize life in this present world is held in dynamic tension with the promise of future glory that is yet to come. In that Advent tension, the church lives its life. Because we live in this age, we feel sorrow; but because we also live with a foot in the age to come, we feel joy.
Jesus was the fulfillment of God’s plan for true peace, Shalom. Now, as sons and daughters, wholeness and true peace is ours for the taking. Let’s live our lives undivided and whole as we agree with God’s perfect plan of Shalom!
Biblical Hope finds rest in God’s promises. Therefore, we must know the promises of God found richly in His Word. We also can look to certain Biblical figures, such as the Virgin Mary, as models who cultivated Hope in habit and in prayer, doing so in ways that caught God’s attention and earned His treasured descriptor of “highly favored”.
The Name of the Lord literally cannot be lifted higher. His is already the Name above all names. Yet Jesus tells us to “hallow”, or honor, the Father’s name. The Psalmist also consistently blesses the name of the Lord. What happens when we do the same? What changes in us and in our environment when we bless the Lord? It’s worth finding out and practicing often.
What made Jesus’ prayer life set apart? Jews at that time would have already prayed three times per day yet the disciples still ask, “Will you teach us how to pray?” Together we explore the heart posture that grows our intimacy in prayer.
What does it look like to really commune and fellowship with each other at a deeper level? Not a church potluck. More than light coffee visits or church lobby hellos. How do we become a community that is truly vulnerable, intimate and known in the family of God?
New studies suggest Gen Z is now the loneliest generation, and experts say we're in the middle of a loneliness epidemic. But the good news is that, through the cross, we have been born into a family. Through His death, burial and resurrection, Christ not only made a way for us to be made right with God, but He made a way for the members of His household to be rightly related to one another. In this message, Brian discusses this reality laid out in Ephesians chapter 2, while challenging the church to live openly and honestly before God and one another... roof off, walls down, and masks away.
Our stories of pursuing Christ Jesus often reveal His initial pursuit of us. In the ways we doubt this, let us rehearse our stories together and invite the Holy Spirit to reveal how His presence has been with us all along. In doing so, may we be all the more convinced that our stories, lived in response to Christ Jesus, speak Hope (1 Peter 3:15) and victory (Revelation 12:11) over ourselves and His Church.
This Sunday, Kathryn Gardner began the first part of our journey through our teachings on Acts 2:42 with a message focusing on the purpose for equipping. Ephesians 4:12-13 tell us that it is so “the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ”. But how do we become mature? We decide, we throw off sin, and we fix our eyes on Jesus- the author and perfect or if our faith.
Acts shows an empowered church that is equipped, communing and praying; A return to Eden-like living as God’s children. What keeps us from walking like this? What keeps us from childlike faith? How do we position ourselves to naturally desire true intimacy with the Father and His people?
From the series “I Will Build My Church”. A discussion about God’s Church warrants an invitation to assure that our testimony regarding the Church echoes God’s testimony regarding the Church. God loves the Church. He’s dreamed of her since before the foundation of the earth. But in every age anti-church sentiment suggests a more critically viable position be held against the Church, even by those in her fellowship. To whose testimony will we sign our name?
From the series, “I Will Build My Church”. God has a plan for your life that includes a new identity and a brand-new approach to human interaction.
From the series, “I Will Build My Church”. Our culture doesn’t care about our creeds, theories, or customs. Fourty million people have stopped attending church in the last 25 years. If Jesus is still building his church in 2023, where is the data to back that up? How is Jesus building his church, and what does that mean for us?
The Bible provides clear and unambiguous instructions to Christians regarding truth: love it, walk in it, think about it, and testify to it. But we're faced today with many competing truth claims -- and we're forced to decipher them with minds that are easily fooled. What then should we do about truth? In Jesus' encounter with the woman at the well, he demonstrates how his people ought to deal with truth: be humble with it, be hungry for it, and honor God and others with it.
When did being a Christian require us to be pleasant, positive, and perky ALL the time? Was Jesus any of those things ALL the time? No. Jesus was about His Father’s business, which was to extend God’s Covenant of perfect love to all people. And with a Covenant of perfect love comes a whole heap of hates–particularly against anything that threatens or hinders the beloved. The Scriptures say that Jesus loves what is right and hates what is evil. And God loves this about Jesus. So let’s be more like Jesus in loving and hating precisely what He does. (Cheers to Steven Manuel for much of this vocabulary.)
“Love your neighbor” – it’s a simple command with incredible consequences. Paul and his team share in I Thessalonians 2 how their mission to the city of Thessalonica transformed them as they learned to love (and be loved) by their neighbors. As we approach a new school year and thousands of strangers descending upon our city, what would it look like if Jesus’ church stepped forward and saw every man, woman, and child as a neighbor God loves? How would Bryan College Station change? How would we change?
Jesus sees the world differently than we do. When he sees us, his first instinct is not towards judgement but towards compassion. Jesus' sight of us is passionate, piercing, and has the power to transform us from the inside out. We are exactly what he's looking for.
“God is intensely and fundamentally relational,” is a phrase we repeat from time to time at Citizens. Josh breaks down this phrase, explains its motivations and unpacks deeper meaning behind each of the words. He explores three of the qualities of being relational and how this critical aspect of God leads us to the understanding that love is the basis of all reality.
Anything we set against the perfect nature and character of our Lord – as He revealed in Scripture – will fall like the idol of Dagon before the Ark of the Covenant. As believers, it is tempting to exalt the peace and joy of the Kingdom of God while ignoring, or fighting against, God’s righteousness. But Romans 14 says we need all three. And Jesus said to seek first the Kingdom of God and its righteousness. In a cultural age that decries righteousness as “hate-speech”, we believers need to be reminded by scripture that God’s righteousness is deeply connected to His love, and vice versa. His love and righteousness are one in the same.
The Father’s heart for us is to live in freedom and to become more like him. Fear is not freedom and it is not the Father’s voice. It can easily keep us from moving forward through whatever chapter we find ourselves in. This week, we look at why and how we as believers must behold him and see him rightly. We also discover what we see about the cross when we look closely and what we can do with the things that have had a hold on us for too long.
Only Jesus can pronounce Salvation. Only Jesus can grant access, by His Blood, to the Kingdom of God. However, Jesus still waits for us to actively repent of our self-constructed securities, to break allegiances with false “gospels” that suggest we are perfectly fine exactly as we are or that our passion for His works is enough to win Him over. The true Gospel of Jesus is worth making room for in our lives. For this reason, may His Kingdom extend still further into each one of us.
As Adam held fig leaves to cover the shame of his body, God asked him, “Who told you that you were naked?” Much later, after a wealthy fellow asked Jesus how to get religious rewards, Jesus ups the ante and tells him, “Go sell your possessions and give your money to the poor.” Jesus said this because he knew, just as Adam held his fig leaves, the rich young man held his possessions. What fig leaves are we holding? What lies or weaknesses are we trying to hide? And what do we do when dropping those fig leaves is easier said than done? In Christ Jesus, there is no condemnation, but there is also no room to hold to self-protective / self-destructive coverings.
Nick talks about how to silence the inner critic and accusatory tone many believers can have towards themselves and how to be as kind to themselves as God is.
Jesus departed from crowds to "desolate places" to meet with His Father. If this was a regular practice for Jesus, perhaps it should be for us as well. Summer in a college town provides an ample opportunity for such, especially as the crowds around here have departed. But what should our time in those desolate places look like? We can see examples in Luke of people encountering Jesus, that mirror similar Old Testament encounters with Father God, that seemed to please both. And we know, if something pleases God, we want to give that to Him. The desolate places just became more inviting.
From the Series “The Apostles’ Creed.” The Holy Spirit is not merely a theological concept but rather the third person of the Trinity, coequal with the Father and the Son. The Holy Spirit cannot be controlled or manipulated by humans but can be personally known and related to. As a divine person, the Holy Spirit is actively present and involved in the lives of those who follow Jesus. He guides us into the fullness of truth, convicts us of sin, empowers us to live according to the teachings of Jesus, and assists us in prayer. Therefore, the Holy Spirit is not a mere doctrine or abstract idea but a living and dynamic reality in the life of every follower of Jesus.
From the Series “The Apostles’ Creed.” Returning to the first line of the Creed, God, our Father, is the Creator of Heaven and earth. As sons and daughters, we cannot escape the imprint of our Genesis. So what does it mean as unique individuals to be created in God’s image? There are many of us because there is much of Him. How do we begin to rule and reign as He commanded in a world that needs so much? How did God Himself begin His own rule and reign over creation? Let’s learn to emulate the Father whose image we bear.
From the Series “The Apostles’ Creed.” Judgment Day is coming, and everyone will be judged by Jesus. Considering this, we should live with a conscious expectation of immanency by focusing on living like Jesus, looking like Jesus, and loving like Jesus.
From the Series “The Apostles’ Creed.” In the ascension, Jesus ascends to the ultimate throne as the King over everything. He extends an invitation to us to enter a new reality where he intercedes for us, where we become citizens of a new community, and where the Holy Spirit takes up residence within u
From the Series “The Apostles’ Creed.” The resurrection is the remarkable counter-story that challenges the narratives we tell others and ourselves about what is possible and what is not.
From the Series “The Apostles’ Creed.” The Creed makes a staggering leap from Jesus’ birth to His crucifixion. Why does the Creed ignore Jesus’ ministry and teachings … or does it? Also, what is the significance of naming Pontius Pilate, an antagonist in the Christian story, in the Creed? These questions help us better understand God’s perspective on suffering, which is drastically different – and more praiseworthy – than any other religious or philosophical concept of suffering.
From the Series “The Apostles’ Creed.” The virgin conception is one of the most challenging concepts for the modern mind. Yet it is no more unbelievable to us than to those living in the first century. Incarnation means ‘being in flesh.’ It is a core belief of the global church: God became man. It’s also a chronicle, real history documented by people who lived and walked with Jesus. In the incarnation, God is inviting us to wonder at the great lengths he would go to be in relationship with his creation, and this is very good news.
From the Series “The Apostles’ Creed”. Jesus is the center of Christianity. He is the center of The Apostles’ Creed. He is the center of everything that has been, is, and will be. Historians, Christians, and Atheists agree: Jesus was a real person who really lived. But what do we believe about Jesus? Is he really the God who became man, the image of the invisible God? And if he is, what are the implications of this news in the modern era we live in today?
From the Series “The Apostles’ Creed”. In order to make Himself and His intentions known, God chose to present Himself as our Father. This revelation is recognized at Creation and is all the more so in Jesus’ story. But what do we do when the sins of earthly fathers, or of the patriarchy in general, complicate God’s chosen metaphor as our Father? Are we at liberty to consider Him, or the Creed, in more digestible terms?
From the Series “The Apostles’ Creed”. What do you believe... about God, Jesus, the Holy Spirit, and the church? And why do you believe what you believe? For almost two thousand years, the historical, global, orthodox church has taught and recited The Apostles’ Creed to remind themselves what they believe. What place does The Creed have in our context today? Is it helpful, or is it just some ancient tradition that we’ve replaced?
From the Series “Formed by Jesus”. Two definitions exist for the word “holy”: one from our modern English language, and the other from the Biblical Hebrew. God’s holiness is central to His character. God’s declaration of the church’s holiness is central to how our own self-conception. For these reasons, we need to define holiness – God’s holiness and the church’s holiness – as Biblical writers understood it.
From the Series “Formed by Jesus.” We have all been shaped by life experiences, our family of origin, words spoken over us, our friendships, and the places we’ve been. We have been formed by what we read and watch, the food we eat, and the music we listen to. We are being formed all of the time, everywhere we go. How have the cultural narratives of success and individuality formed us, and is it congruent with the Way of Jesus? Is there a way to recapture the lost way of humility in a world where humility is not valued?
From the Series, “Eat this Book”. We are distracted people. We know we should read scripture, but most of us find it difficult, confusing, dated, and less exciting than binge-watching a show on Netflix. We may know how to read the Bible, but few know how to pray the Bible. Praying scripture is the anecdote to keeping our minds from wandering; it’s a practice that’s been around for centuries in what is known as “divine reading.” In Lectio Divina, we are invited into the story of God through a conversation with him by listening to and recognizing God’s voice.
Eating God’s word is different than reading God’s word. Eating is not less than reading, but it is much more than that. At a time when the voices of many compete for our attention and claim to give life, Jesus invites us to feast on him, the bread of life. And he says that this kind of eating will bring life to us and the world around us.
As we close our shared season of Advent, we look at Hope through both a social and theological lens. Biblical Hope, we learn, focuses far more on waiting well than on the potential satisfaction of desire. As people of the Word, we need a personal Liturgy that helps us “eat the scroll” of God’s scripture, which uniquely refreshes us in seasons of Hopeful waiting.
This week in our advent series we talk about peace and discuss reasons for why so many of us are struggling with anxiety and not walking in biblical peace.
Joy is of such high value in heaven that the writer of Hebrews said in chapter 12 that it was the JOY set before Jesus that helped Him endure the Cross. As we, as Jesus followers, fix our eyes on God and truly behold Him, we will continue to be filled with joy no matter our circumstances. The joy of the presence of God in our lives is worth everything we have! The Holy Spirit loves to stir up joy in each of us to enable us to live abundantly free and full of joy and the world needs to see sons and daughters of God that love like our King.
Advent invites the church to honor our spiritual ancestors’ waiting for the Messiah’s arrival. In our Advent waiting, it is good to remember the darkness that the light of Jesus invaded with His Father’s love. Remembering His love for us - the ways He invaded the darkness of our own lives and those near us - builds our faith to confidently speak His light into a dark world still waiting for a Messiah.
From the Series, “The Sermon on the Mount”. Jesus did an untold number of miracles. From raising the dead to feeding five thousand people, people were amazed by Jesus. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus’ teaching amazed people. He was compelling. But that was 2,000 years ago. According to recent Barna surveys, it’s projected that over 1 million people will leave the church in 2023. 67% of college students will lose their faith by the end of this school year. How can we reclaim a posture of amazement with the person and work of Jesus? When was the last time you were amazed by Jesus?
In a postmodern world, truth and love are open for interpretation and demands are often made to accept or affirm personal definitions of truth and love. For this reason, the words and actions of Jesus can seem offensive (as they often did in His day) because Jesus will not change His definitions of Truth and Love to affirm who we are. Rather, Jesus’ Truth and Jesus’ Love affirms who His Father is. Period. Full stop. No apologies.
The purpose of the Sabbath is Worship. Everyone worships something. The question is not - are you worshipping, but who or what are you worshipping? Once we enter into the practice of Sabbath; once we stop, then rest, then delight, the resulting response is worship.
Through the Sabbath, God invites us to experience true delight. Sabbath is delighting in God’s world, his word; to delight in God, and to experience his delight in us. But our culture promotes the opposite of what God is offering us in the Sabbath. The fruit of this world is burnout and cynicism, but there’s another way – and in the Sabbath, God’s promise of rest still stands.
Sabbath is a Holy day, ascribed uniquely by God at creation and again in the Ten Commandments. It is a day to practice wrapping our best AND most broken parts around, a day that grants a weekly reprieve from the anxieties that enslave our thoughts, emotions, and best intentions. Anything God names "Holy" is a gift to His people. So let us move towards Sabbath with joy and expectation.
Most of us live with little to no margin, teetering on the edge of burnout, unable to love God or one another fully. Sabbath is an invitation to stop this anxious, hurried pace and rest. In this ancient practice, we shift from restlessness to restfulness in all of life. In Sabbath, we remember the rhythms God practiced and embedded in all creation, trusting him to provide everything we need from a heart posture of gratitude.
From the Vision Series 2022: Follow. Jesus walked in the power of the Holy Spirit (Lk. 4v14), and the Father gives his children the power of the Holy Spirit (Acts 1v8, Rom. 13v13). When does this happen? How does it happen? Who is the Holy Spirit? And what does living in the power of the Holy Spirit look like?
From the Vision Series 2022: Follow. Jesus' call to follow him is synonymous with a call to community. The primary title in the New Testament to describe the community Jesus is building is "family." But for many, family is complicated. We don't get to choose our family. The family Jesus is building can also be challenging. Without community, we restrict our spiritual formation and miss out on God's design for the church. So how do we practice biblical community with all our baggage, fears, and expectations? From the Vision Series 2022: Follow. Jesus' call to follow him is synonymous with a call to community. The primary title in the New Testament to describe the community Jesus is building is "family." But for many, family is complicated. We don't get to choose our family. The family Jesus is building can also be challenging. Without community, we restrict our spiritual formation and miss out on God's design for the church. So how do we practice biblical community with all our baggage, fears, and expectations?
From the Vision Series 2022: Follow. We’re all in the process of becoming someone. Either we are actively involved in this process, or we are passive. Jesus invites us to follow in him through the process of abiding. Before Citizens can live a communal life or a charismatic life, we must live the Christ life, which starts with abiding in the vine, being hidden in Christ, and being formed into his image.
From the Series “Sermon on the Mount.” Prayer can feel like an impossible practice to integrate into daily life. We all have hangups and deeply conflicting emotions about prayer for various reasons. Even still, Jesus invites his disciples into a life of abiding prayer filled with asking, seeking, and knocking. But what does Jesus mean? And is there a way around the common roadblocks followers of Jesus experience when we try to obey this teaching and take Jesus at his word?
From the Series “Sermon on the Mount.” When we are critical and judge people unfairly, we set ourselves above others, and we sit in God’s seat. By doing this, we set ourselves up for similar judgment in the future. Jesus presents the way we become the kinds of people who help others, his advocates of reconciliation and healing, by first taking inventory of our hidden motives, our desires to control and confess these things as sin.
From the Series “Sermon on the Mount”. Anxiety robs us of the identity we have in Jesus and makes us an idolater – placing value on anything other than God (ourselves, our abilities, our education, our title, our influence, our bank account, our degree plan). Anxiety about obtaining possessions, even the basic needs of life, is meaningless because God places value on you. Far more than anything else. And when we place value and infinite worth on seeking God and his kingdom before anything else, he provides for every need we have. So, even planning for tomorrow is meaningless.
From the Series “Sermon on the Mount”. In Matthew 6:19-24, Jesus questions His disciples in which economy they to participate – the treasures of earth that are momentarily enticing but fade or the treasures of heaven that challenge one’s faith but yield eternal fruit. It’s helpful for disciples in any age to recognize that, because of God’s great mercy and Jesus’ resurrection, the rewards of the Father and the treasures of Heaven can be realized NOW. The Kingdom of God has come NOW. No disciple needs to wait until the sweet by-and-by to obtain the ultimate reward: God’s dynamic presence with us NOW.
In 1 Samuel, King David is described as the man after God’s own heart. Although his life was marked by very high-high’s and even lower-low’s, he never wavered from his desire to know the Lord. Psalm 63 provides a framework for what it means to seek God and how we should pursue him. As a result, we can become a church whose faith can carry us through any storm.
This week we look at Psalm 23 and how it offers a broad snapshot of what it looks like to trust the Lord while walking through every season of life. The hope of this message is that we would recognize his love and his faithfulness. May this teaching stir up within you a passion to know him more.
From the Summer Psalms Series. As carnal beings in a carnal-centric world, we may easily obsess over our bodies, minds, and emotions – how we “feel”. Psalm 19 rightly reorients self-obsession to awe and humility before the Lord. For this reason, we need the Bible more than “biblical supplements”, although we often remain content with just supplements. But can we ever truly experience the Bible as more precious than gold, as sweeter than honey? The answer: absolutely yes.
From the Summer Psalms Series. In a chaotic world where even those outside the church report humanity’s relational crisis, the Psalms anchor us front and center before a God whose covenantal blessings to Abraham have not yet exceeded the promised inheritance of a thousand generations. But how do we meet with this historically faithful God when so much vies for our current attention? The Psalms instruct us how to shift attention rightly to God so He might receive our greatest adoration and we might find our greatest contentment in Him.
From the Summer Psalms Series. As God’s people, we are not meant to fit the Bible into the narrative of our lives like more good advice; rather, we should strive to center our lives within God’s ongoing Biblical narrative of establishing and advancing His Kingdom on the earth. From the outset, the poetry and prayers of Psalms help us enter God’s story.
From the Series “Sermon on the Mount”. We live in the juxtaposition of the true self and the false self, what others have called the eulogy virtues and the resume virtues. In Matthew 6, Jesus shifts his focus from bad things that get in the way of following him to good things that get in the way of following him. In this text, Jesus takes his disciples through four shifts to transition from the false self to the true self, rooted and established in him.
From the Series “Sermon on the Mount”. Eugene Peterson writes, “It is easy to be honest with God with our hallelujahs; it is somewhat more difficult to be honest with our hurts; it is nearly impossible to be honest before God in the dark emotions of our hate”. Jesus confronts a socially accepted style of hatred – entrenched more in jealousy than rage – and declares it unacceptable in the Kingdom of God. What does this hate look like? Where have it previously appeared in scripture? How do we recognize it in ourselves?
From the Series “Sermon on the Mount.” The desire for revenge is a characteristic that is hardwired into our DNA. Some believe the Bible makes a case for revenge in certain circumstances, and some believe retaliation is never acceptable. Jesus claims that there is a 3rd way to bring peace through nonviolent action in a culture of revenge, but is it possible?
From the Series “Sermon on the Mount.” Divorce is painful and destructive. Everyone experiences the fallout after a marriage breaks up. Culture says one thing, legalism says another thing, but what does Jesus say about divorce and remarriage? Without making demands or announcing judgment, Jesus offers a third way, a way that brings healing, joy, and resurrection.
At a deep, fundamental level, we all have a problem. If we misdiagnose the problem, we’ll spend our lives trying to address one thing only to discover later that the problem, or our solution, was the wrong thing all along. Some of us are looking for signs of life in dead places, but He’s not there. He is risen.
From the Series “Sermon on the Mount.” Distorted desires destroy lives. Lust is an inner desire to dominate someone or something else in a distorted way. Jesus announces that, like adultery, lust is a destructive evil and that we must take drastic steps to eradicate its presence from our lives, in all its forms, or we will face hellish and unintended consequences.
From the Series, “Sermon on the Mount”. Anger is a powerfully complex and misunderstood emotion. Depending on cultural norms or family of origin, anger can vary between appropriate and inappropriate. In the middle of those differences, Jesus confronts our outward religious practices of image management and consumerism with the way to live as people of his kingdom.
From the series, “Sermon on the Mount”. Jesus makes the bold claim that He did not come to abolish the Law, but to fulfill it. What does that mean, and did He do what He said? And how does that change our relationship with the Law? Through the New Covenant, God is not after an outward appearance of righteousness, but a renovation of our heart.
From the Series, “Sermon on the Mount.” Jesus makes a declaration of His followers that is familiar to the point of becoming cliche: He says they are “the salt of the earth” and “the light of the world”. He even suggests that they can lose their saltiness and hide their light. But what does any of this mean – practically speaking? Meditating on these statements, in the context of Jesus’ ministry, helps us as His followers consider the preservational nature of our words while also accepting the spiritual arrow we point to God’s heart through our willingness to repent and turn our gaze upon His glory.
How do we relate to persecution? We don’t face the threat of being beaten or losing our lives for following Jesus in our modern American context. However, following Jesus will and should bring opposition. And if it doesn’t, what does that say about the good news we believe?
We live in a divided culture where everything is split into two categories with opposing narratives. How do children of God make peace, and why does Jesus say that peacemakers and children of God are connected?
From the Series, “Sermon on the Mount”. When Jesus announces the arrival of God's Kingdom in Matthew 5, he starts with a list of "God sees you" to those who feel unseen – the poor in spirit, the mourning, those who feel run over and taken advantage of, and those hungering for justice. Next, Jesus announces "God sees you" to the pure in heart and says that they will see him. But what does that mean? Is this purity of heart achieved through behavior modification or is it something more? God sees deep within your heart, and he knows the reasons why you do what you do. So, to the single-minded, the ones that do things with the right motivations, Jesus announces that they will see God.
From the Series, “Sermon on the Mount”. God reveals His character through His actions and through His Word and through His Son. Mercy is one of God’s characteristics that reveals His heart and purposes for us. God’s ways (His character) often can be overlooked by our fascination with His works. Similarly, we can become enamored with our own works while never truly allowing God to change our character. What is it we truly want from God? More dazzling stories of neat emotional moments? Or a truly transformative encounter with His character?
From the Series, “Sermon on the Mount.”
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.
Matthew 5:6
The question is ‘What do you want for your life?’ not ‘What is acceptable for my life?’ … we naturally defend what we hunger after. May we, God's church, be people that passionately hunger after holiness and purity of heart which will lead to true contentment. The only way to be fully satisfied in life is to hunger and thirst after God and His righteousness.
From the Series, “Sermon on the Mount.” What if the American Dream and The Way of Jesus are incompatible? Why is the power grab, hustle culture the expected norm if it is a pointless path to nowhere? How would we react if the assertive, the aggressive, and the overachievers ended up empty-handed and the meek inherited the earth? And, who are the meek and why in the world do they inherit anything, especially “the earth”?
From the Series “Sermon on the Mount”. In His longest recording teaching, Jesus spoke to a rag-tag group of miscreants about the Kingdom He had come to establish inside their hearts. Most of these degenerates were people He’d healed, who followed Him to the point of this teaching. For those who Mourn, the world may offer a plethora of options for “feeling better” that come with no promise of actual healing. In fact, the things that make us “feel better” often come with a price tag that compounds our grief. Jesus, on the other hand, offers true healing with no promise of immediately “feeling better”. Which is better? Which do we prefer? How do we put ourselves in a position to be healed and comforted by our Father – the Author and Perfector of our faith?
From the Series “Sermon on the Mount.” What is the good life? The blessed life? The happy life? The life of meaning, depth, and purpose? What is that like, and who gets it? Is it the one who does everything right always? The disciplined and hardworking? Jesus steps into the middle of humanity and defines who receives God's blessing in an ironic, counterintuitive, upside-down, paradoxical way that shocks hearers then and now.
From the Series “Sermon on the Mount.” We’re all becoming somebody, consciously or subconsciously. Voices pull us in every direction, telling us who we should be. So how do we determine the voice that matters most? We need the voice of Jesus to reshape us, now more than ever before.
As believers, our hope should cause us to walk and talk and live with an obvious difference- no matter our circumstances. So what exactly is our hope? Tonight we look forward by looking backward at the birth of our Savior. The man who has had the greatest impact in the history of the human race. The man whose life, death, and resurrection accomplished so much for us. The man who enables us to have hope even when there is no evidence that things will get better.
For those who dread the Christmas season, be encouraged. The grief, angst, disappointment, loneliness many of us sense this season speaks precisely to why Jesus came -- to bring light to the darkness we know too well. As an American church, we falter at lamenting. If this season is difficult for you, do not hold your breath until the New Year. Lean in. Share your ache with the church. Even Father God "yearned" for reconciliation with His children, a sentiment He shared with Jesus (our Reconciler) and the Holy Spirit (our Comforter). Let's learn bring our lament well into our Advent celebrations and waiting.
The word itself causes us to pause and consider what God may be saying even when we don’t fully understand. Individually and collectively exhaling and leaning into the arms of our Father will help prepare us to enter the Advent season. SELAH isn’t working, it’s pausing. It’s intentionally taking a deep breath to consider. Treasure, be in the moment, present and aware of God, of ourselves and those around us. Let us be encouraged to create space to SELAH.
From the Series “Acts.” The Teaching team hosted a panel discussion overviewing questions submitted by Citizens on the book of Acts.
From the Series “Acts.” Despite the way things feel and seem at times, and against all odds, we can have hope in hopeless situations. We can have hope when things look horrible. Faith isn’t measured in our ability to work up some emotional or mental power to believe, but in our ability to surrender to the faithfulness of Jesus.
From the series "Acts." Evangelismhas become a dirty word. Our generation believes that sharing one's faith in Jesus is antiquated at best; at worst, it is wrong. So how do we obey the Great Commission of Jesus while recognizing the current cultural climate? Is there a way to reconstruct evangelism?
Despite being hunted, beaten up, and locked up, Paul is at peace and unshaken because he has rooted his hope in the resurrection of Jesus, which lit the flame of God's redemption of all of creation and history. Despite being at the mercy of his circumstances and a corrupt empire, Paul knows that both he and that broken world are caught up in the growing fire of justice and a world-made-right fueled by that resurrection.
God gave us our five senses to help us experience Him, His world and His scriptures. The Lord uses our prayerful imaginations to energize scripture reading and to help us to remember that much of what was real is left out; the voices of the main characters, the people in the crowd, the silence, the volume, the smells in the room or city, the architecture, the onlookers holding hands or leaning on a beam, the posture of the protagonists and the glances of the eyes, the babies crying in the background or the heat or cool breezes that would come and go... As we continue in our study of Acts chapter 23, our hope is that we can awaken our senses to God through His word.
From the Series “Vision v.2021.” It isn’t enough to have a correct mindset or orthodoxy of the church. We need a proper orthopraxy of what it means to live as the church in the Way of Jesus, in 2021, in Bryan/College Station. If we are dead to sin and alive in Christ, how does this drive our wants, loves, and longings? What would it look like if transformation happened in Bryan/College Station, not because we believe the right way – but because we live and love the right way?
From the Series “Vision v.2021.” We all know what community looks like at its worst, but what does it look like at its best? The good news of Jesus is that we can be reconciled to God, but it doesn’t stop there. The full gospel reconciles us to one another in the context of community. But what is a community, exactly? Most of us long for it, some think we know what it is, but how do we know when we’ve really reached the Graduate Level Community that Jesus longs for us to have?
From the Series “Vision v.2021.” When you think about church, what are some of the things that come to your mind? Jesus and the writers of the New Testament had very specific things to say about church. How is Citizens defined, and what are some of the core elements of our culture, and how will we saturate Bryan/College Station with the love of Jesus?
From the Series, “Acts.” After arriving in Jerusalem, Paul quickly finds his life mirroring Jesus’ own in ways most of us prefer to ignore or disregard for ourselves. Paul has entered, as he references in Ephesians 6, “the evil day” when life reveals aspects of a Holy God that offend mortal humans. Paul stands firm. How might we also? The very structure of Acts reveals how we might stand with Christ in difficult seasons: 20 chapters devoted to church unity followed by eight chapters of Paul on trial. We will stand with Christ when -- and only when -- we have first learned to live in unity with our brothers and sisters in Christ.
Speaker: Ben Rush
From the Series, “Acts.” With tens of thousands of denominations across the world, representing thousands of different opinions about thousands of subjects - why in the world would anyone want to be associated with the church? Why in the world would anyone want to follow Jesus and become part of the family of God when this family looks more divided than their own? Division in the church confuses the world and makes God sick. It might even be evidence that we aren’t truly following Jesus. So is there any hope for the church? Can we be the answer to Jesus’ prayer?
Speaker: Ben Rush
From the Series, “Acts.” We all know someone who claimed to hear from God to justify an action that God clearly couldn’t have instructed them to do. But, injustices cloaked in spirituality aside, what do we do when we are rooted in God’s word and prayer, seek counsel, analyze the circumstances and have peace, but still someone tries to stop us? What do you do when someone tries to stop you from obeying God’s voice?
Speaker: Ben Rush
From the Series, “Acts.” In an individualistic culture captivated by relativism and addicted to busyness, how do we live and share the Way of Jesus? Where do we even begin? As apprentices of Jesus, is it possible to define, determine, and distill the point in which our highest contribution lies? Paul knew what was essential, Jesus knew what was essential, and the church must rediscover the essential if we have any hope of bringing God’s Kingdom to earth.
From the Series, “Acts”. In the story of Paul encountering the seven brothers of Sceva (Acts 19:11-20), interesting questions arise through the voice of an evil spirit. In the heavenlies, we want to be known both by God the Father and by God’s adversary, called Satan. But why? And why should we fear not the enemy of God? What does the Bible say about God’s enemy, and what does the Bible say about our response to that enemy’s accusations against us, against one another, and against the church?
Just as Jesus depended on the Holy Spirit to empower Him, we too are invited to receive power from the Holy Spirit to be His witnesses. In Acts 18:24-19:12 both Apollos and this small band of believers hear an incomplete gospel without fully understanding who the Holy Spirit is and the power that he continually offers. We, as believers today, are invited to know the person and work of the Holy Spirit, not just in our minds but through power in our lives.
In Acts 18 introduces us to characters in the biblical narrative who show us what it means to persevere in difficult, unsure, and uncomfortable circumstances to spread the gospel of Jesus Christ. Look more closely with us as we study the lives of Priscilla, Aquila and Apollos in their roles of reconciling people to God through his God’s plan and because of his love for humanity. Ask yourself: When did you last take a chance so great you needed God to come through for you or much would be lost? When was the last time you risked all comfort to share the name of Jesus with those who need to hear it? Isn’t now the time?
In Acts 17, the early followers of Jesus are described as "...defying Caesar’s decrees, saying that there is another king, one called Jesus." Amid so many competitors for our attention and affections, how do we live into the legacy of a Church whose loyalty and worship are clearly and wholly offered to God as he is revealed in Jesus?
Worship is a way that God has provided for humanity to come into agreement with Him. Acts 16 is a window into Paul and Silas continually being led by the Spirit and using praise as strength and warfare. We all need encouragement to continue to allow our lives to be yielded to the Spirit.
Immediately after helping resolve one of the Church's first dramatic theological disputes, Paul and Barnabas disagree over something seemingly far smaller and decide to part ways. We've all lived this reality - ruptured relationships in the church or other contexts we can't seem to fix. What if this story of disunity and disappointment in the early Church can actually point us to hope in our wounding and waiting for the healing of broken relationships?
Acts 15 offers good news and a way forward for a Church that faces uncertainties, controversies, disagreements, and disunity — for a Church that knows it doesn’t have everything figured out.
From the Series, “Acts”. While we often respond to God and one another through earnest and vulnerable expectations, we may not always know how to name such expectations or pinpoint where they originated. Acts 14 showcases two different people-groups responding to Barnabas and Paul through the filter of deeply entrenched cultural expectations. Because our expectations may supercede our logic, we need the Holy Spirit and the scriptures to search our hearts and sanctify our expectations of God and our place in His cosmos.
From the Series, “Acts”. Luke, author of Acts, offers an interesting story in Acts 13 of Paul addressing a “false prophet”. Paul is harsh, to say the least, both to this character and to false prophets he warns against in his Epistles. But why is Paul so harsh? And what do Luke’s story and Paul’s responses tell us, in the modern church, about identifying and addressing false prophets and teachings?
From the Series, "Acts”. In Acts 13:1-3, we see how the ethnic and cultural diversity of the first century church should be reflected in our church today. But instead of a “fellowship of differents”, we often have a “fellowship of sames”, and the only way to address this is to recognize the effectiveness of Christ’s sacrifice on the cross.
From the Series, “Acts”. In Acts 12, those who belonged to the church prayed earnestly for Peter's release, with intense passion, moments after the death of James. In the garden, hours before his execution, Jesus prayed in the same way. After the resurrection, Jesus welcomed Thomas patiently and lovingly, even though he had uncertainty that Jesus was alive. We live in a world of pain, sickness, betrayal, and death. God can do far more than we think or ask, but how do we pray when God didn't answer the last prayer we prayed in the way we asked him to answer?
From the Series, “Acts”. In the West, we openly talk about sex but avoid talking about money. The church in Acts is a family that loves generously by sharing time, energy, and money with anyone in need. How do we live in the Way of Jesus in a culture addicted to affluence, accumulation, and abundance? And how do we change our scarcity mindset to a sharing mindset, where everything we have is just a gift from God to be shared with others?
From the series, "Acts". In Chapter 11, we see Barnabas, who is called the "son of encouragement". Walking in the Way of Jesus is seeing your entire existence as an encourager. Encouragers see people and situations through the eyes of Jesus. They are joyful people, full of goodness, faith, and the Holy Spirit. Encouragers form partnerships, emulating God the Father, who forms covenants throughout the Bible, working alongside people to accomplish good together.
While a Partial Gospel views sin in the Garden and redemption on the Cross as the totality of our Christian experience, a Fuller Gospel reaches back to our Image-bearing purposes with God in Creation and our redeemed partnership with Him in restoring His Kingdom to this earth. Speaking forgiveness and blessings well, offers concrete opportunities to partner with God in His Fuller Gospel story.
From the series, "Acts". As Peter and the early Church continue to discover in Acts 10, the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus open the doorway to God's Kingdom for anyone and everyone in need of forgiveness and new life. Then and now, that reality redefines who God's people are, who our people are, and what that means for the life of the Church.
From the series, "Acts". Why is it that when some people face opposition, they’re resilient, while others completely fall apart? Roadblocks, detours, and closed doors are expected parts of life in The Way of Jesus. Opposition, conflict, and tension may feel like defeat, but instead, it is an opportunity and an invitation for new life and a new beginning.
Resurrection is God’s rescue mission, and it all begins with Jesus conquering death with a tomb that’s empty. Resurrection announces that there is a new creation bursting forth, right here and right now. Resurrection is the promise of something better and a hope that the end is not really the end. Resurrection is God’s invitation to join him in redeeming, restoring, and renewing all things.
The Bible is meant to be read in three dimensions: understanding the text, knowing its historical significance, and seeing it all through the cultural lens of ancient Israel. Palm Sunday challenges the beliefs we hold at our core, who and what we serve, and how far we’re willing to go. Listen and see how the text lives and breathes and reveals the mystery of a savior who holds something so dear He would die for it.
From the series, "Acts". Encounters with Jesus change us as individuals and together as the family of God. The power of the Holy Spirit enables us to do more through our lives than humanly possible and the effects will far outlast our own lives.
Most of our misconceptions regarding the "Family of God" are steeped in the modern American ethos of do more and more things for more and more people, which is not the Father's heart for His children. The "Family of God" instead looks more like a collective faith in Christ infused by the Holy Spirit's authority to "rejoice and mourn" together freely and well -- even, if necessary, in the same room.
From the Series, “Acts”. God is deeply and fundamentally relational, and because of this, he will use any means possible to be in a relationship with humankind, and that includes you. In Acts 8, we see five ways God reconciles us to himself: through disruption, generosity, inclusion, obedience, and suffering.
From the series, “Acts”. The faith that has been handed down to us is not the result of a Church that won cultural and political battles over the centuries. It's an inheritance from men and women like Stephen, who demonstrate the power, cost, and hope of cross-shaped living rooted in the Church. Stephen's story is not meant to make him an uncommon hero but to invite us into the kind of life he lived, whether or not we face the kind of death he faced - a life of service in the Church, shaped by the upside-down love and wisdom of the cross even in the face of suffering and opposition.
From the Series, “The Way of Jesus”. Our lives are no more than the combination of a million tiny decisions. How do we live with discernment and wisdom that reflects the way of Jesus in areas that aren’t specifically spelled out in scripture? True wisdom is humble action that recognizes the value of others above ourselves.
From the series, “Acts”. Acts 6:1-7 reports the first major conflict in the early church. The disciples' response reveals significant truths (and challenges) about God's hope to establish spiritual families even among the unimpressive and unfamiliar within our communities.
From the series, “Acts”. We are, by and large, suspicious of any kind of authority, both good or bad. We fear the loss of our independent control, so we recoil with skepticism and negativity. In Acts 5:17-42, we see those who surrendered to God's authority in a commitment to teach the good news of Jesus at all costs - even if they lost what we might call “rights” or “freedom”. We see a church submitted to God’s authority by way of the cross, a way that transcends trend and technique, and this is really good news for a worn out church in a world that’s lost its way.
From the series, “Acts”. In Acts 5:12-16, great fear gripped the church after the deaths of Ananias & Sapphira. This fear resulted in the people of Jesus, gathered together, and signs and wonders follow.
From the series, “Acts”. In Acts 4:32-5:11, we learn to live in the Way of Jesus, and in the new identity that follows, through extreme generosity. The arrogance of accumulation, the conceit of comparison, and the pride of privilege slowly undermine the message of the cross, and ultimately destroy our souls.
From the series, "Acts". In Acts 4:23-31, the early church prays, and God answers. How do we pray for America? Will our prayers lead to revival, or do they wear God out? Christian Nationalism is idolatry that must be renounced. Before there is reconciliation, there must be repentance.
From the series, “The Way of Jesus”. God is the consummate promise keeper, but even the most faithful of us reach a point of needing to reach deeper into our faith and into scripture to find hope for better or even more predictable days. Thankfully, from the very beginning, God has carried humanity to places of new beginnings and solid ground after terrible circumstances and catastrophic change. Join us in recalling God’s faithfulness, steadfast presence and purpose as we step into this new year.
From the series, “The Way of Jesus”. We pray to know God, imitate Jesus, and rely on the Holy Spirit. In Luke 18, Jesus highlights a prayer mindset that is persistent and humble. A prayer model that overcomes our philosophical protest, defective doctrine, and our functional frustration. In this message, learn 3 simple ways to practice prayer in your apprenticeship to Jesus.
From the series, “Advent”. The first advent was motivated by love; to seek and save the lost. Advent living is loving God and neighbor - carrying out Jesus’ first advent mission - emotion plus action. We prepare for the second advent by removing the masks we’ve worn and social distancing we’ve practiced, apart from any pandemic, that insulate us from even knowing the lost. And, as we begin to love the lost, and our enemies, we must face the cold reality of our own incessant struggle to love our own brothers and sisters in Christ.
From the series, “Advent”. Joy is the unshakable awareness that God is good and He is with us. Joy isn't a simple feeling of optimism or a personality trait, nor is it a slave to circumstance, but it is all about our relationship with God. Jesus lived this way and He is inviting us into more and more joy forever.
From the series, “Advent”. Peacemaking is Advent living because it recognizes that the fullness of God’s peace is not here yet, but it hopes for it, and not passively; we hope for and anticipate the coming of God’s peace by beginning to put into place the landscape for that peace so that people see in us the way and peace of Jesus.
From the series, “Advent”. As God's children, we were not created to crumble before harsh realities, nor were we made to dull ourselves to personal or social adversities. Rather, we were designed to echo King David in proclaiming -- even during great troubles -- faith in God today, hope in God tomorrow, and love for God always.
From the series, “The Way of Jesus”. Every day, we can grumble or we can live with gratitude. Nothing is deserved. Everything is a gift from God. The only adequate response to all life’s gifts is gratitude. Gratitude isn’t spiritual bypassing, yet it is more than pithy platitude. Gratitude flows downstream from suffering, kills cynicism and complaint, and points to a future hope.
From the series “The Way of Jesus”. We live in the chaos of an over-busy, hurried, digitally distracted, and noisy world. The practices of silence and solitude enable us to thrive in spite of chaos through intentional time in the quiet, alone with ourselves and God.
From the series, “The Way of Jesus”. Spiritual practices are important and good. They are tools that can grow us, change us, and deepen intimacy with our Father. However, unless our foundational beliefs are solid, spiritual practices can only take us so far. Consider your foundation by examining two potential obstacles to real transformation: not thinking rightly about God and not thinking rightly about self.
From the series, “The Way of Jesus”. Real transformation means we have to abandon the false rabbis of tradition, legalism, movement, and self. When we leave those empty trappings behind, escape the cycle of shame that leads to slavery and death and, as we do, draw nearer and nearer to our true rabbi, Jesus.
From the series, “The Way of Jesus”. How do we live like Jesus in the moment-to-moment events of our lives? Beyond our assumptions, biases, and the white noise of cultural Christianity that’s slowly lulling us to sleep. How do we bring His Kingdom, on earth as it is in heaven - not in a claim or a slogan, but in actuality?
From the series, “The Way of Jesus”. To become like Jesus, our lives must be increasingly saturated by the presence and power of Jesus. As disciples of Jesus, we are learning to have the mindset and attitude of Jesus, thinking about ourselves the way Jesus thought about himself. Is this kind of change even possible, and if it is, how do we become like Jesus?
From the series, “The Way of Jesus”. Jesus invites us to follow him into a way that can seem burdensome, if not impossible - a life of enemy-love, irrational grace and justice, and divine power. But He never intended for us to rely on our own will and determination to live this way; He knew we would have to first embrace and practice a life constantly awake to and shaped by His presence.
From the series, “The Way of Jesus”. What does it mean to be a disciple of Jesus? To be an apprentice, a student, and a learner of Jesus? A disciple of Jesus builds their life on these three goals: be with Jesus, be like Jesus, and live as Jesus lived.
From the series, "Acts". How does the church engage in this cultural moment? Through the activity of the early church in Acts 4:1-24, we see that fire makes an impression, the presence of the Holy Spirit makes ordinary things extraordinary, and influence is always better than power.
From the series, "Acts".Why doesn’t God always heal people? Why are some healed and others live in agony? Why as a culture do we think that our own analysis is infallible and God’s word is fallible? And what are we called to do as disciples of Jesus in relation to all of this and the immense physical and spiritual need in our world today?
The Spiritual Disciplines -- those things to which the early church in Acts devoted themselves -- mark our active turning away from the forces that deplete us and towards an already present God who crowns us with steadfast love.
From the series, "Acts". In Luke’s idyllic picture of the nascent church in Acts 2:42-47, we see a church devoted to four simple things. The most radical of the four? Fellowship. This isn’t a potluck dinner, but something much more controversial. “Koinonia”, or the sharing of everything means that we give all of our possessions and privilege to those that are without. What can Christian postmodernity learn from the simple beginnings of the early church? In a word, everything.
From the series, “Acts”. What is keeping us from being aware of what Jesus is doing right now? In Acts 2:14-41, Peter preaches the gospel to the diaspora Jews. Those that didn’t recognize Jesus as Messiah, while he walked among them, hear Peter’s message and respond with conviction, confession, repentance, and baptism.
From the series, “Acts”. When the early church was filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in tongues in Acts 2:1-13, the crowds responded in astonishment and ridicule. Does the church today have enough new life in the Spirit to make onlookers make any comment at all?
From the series “Acts”. Disciples of Jesus are devoted to knowing, loving, and living the scriptures. Acts 1:15-26 shows us how to submit to God’s will and make decisions that please God in the context of community and through the direction of God’s word.
From the series, “Acts”. Disciples of Jesus live in community and are devoted to prayer. The early church in Acts 1:12-14 provides a model for praying during times of fear and uncertainty.
When Jesus died and then again after his ascension, his earliest followers faced the confusion and doubts that naturally follow the loss of "normal" and the death of expectations, yet those difficulties gave way to joy and the birth of the Church. How? And what do we need to move through our current disorientation and disappointment and into the active hope that God's purposes for our lives and for His Church aren't interrupted by challenging circumstances or the death of our expectations? Acts 1:1-8
Presenting the Church to ourselves as Christ presents it to Himself is an act of Spiritual Warfare. We must see, behold, and love the Church as Christ loves her.
God’s desire for his sons and daughters is to live fully awake, seeing clearly, and fully alive in relationship with him, even in the fog and confusion of our world today.
In Luke 10:25-37, an expert in the Torah asks Jesus for his definition of a neighbor. Jesus responds in a parable, describing a neighbor as someone we become.
With his unique sense of humor, Jesus teaches us that our vision is impaired and that we are misguided when we judge others before honest self reflection and confession. Luke 6:37-42
Waiting is active, not passive. John Ortberg said that “Waiting is not just something we do until we get what we want. Waiting is a part of the process of becoming who God wants us to be.” Luke 1:5-25
The Gospel is more than just a way to get to heaven. It’s about heaven invading every space on earth. It starts before the fall, at creation itself, and encompasses the restoration of all created things.
Lament is an important part of worship that is largely neglected today. We can feel both deep sadness, anger, and grief; and a hope that God will bring justice and healing. As the Apostle Paul said, we grieve, but not as those who have no hope. Psalm 13
In response to the murder of George Floyd, Ben confronts the church’s complicity with the sin of systemic racism, and describes what our response should and will be as citizens of heaven.
Jesus pursued us even when we were broken and lost. In the same way, we are called to look for and love the broken world around us. James 1:27
We are both hurt in relationship and healed in relationship. Jesus lived in community and his call to follow him is synonymously a call to live in community with other students of Jesus. John 15:1-17
Jesus offers to be our good shepherd who calls us by name, leads us out, and goes ahead of us. As students of Jesus, we are learning to recognize His voice. John 10:1-11