City Chapel NYC: Recent Episodes

City Chapel NYC

We are a church community marked by Worship, on a journey toward Wholeheartedness, seeking the Welfare of the City. citychapel.nyc

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The table is still the place where we make real contact with others. And what Jesus does at the table is describe a new order entirely—a new way for relationships, a new way for power structures. Kingdom hospitality doesn't just turn strangers into guests. It turns enemies into family.

Just before the story of Mary and Martha, Jesus tells the parable of the Good Samaritan. The context matters: kingdom hospitality exists because the world is hostile and people arrive wounded. The call is to slow down, to stop, to give someone your full attention—to treat people as human beings rather than interruptions.

So why is it so hard to live out? Jesus answers through Martha. She's doing everything expected of a good host, and yet he says: Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things. Anxious points to a deeper fear beneath every surface worry—what if things fall apart? Troubled carries the image of noise, a volume that won't quiet down. When we're full of that kind of noise, we have nothing left to give others.

Mary has chosen the one thing that is necessary. The good portion—a phrase rooted in inheritance and in food—the richest, most sustaining part. The part that actually keeps you alive. When we sit with Jesus and let his words settle into the deepest parts of us, the noise begins to quiet. And from that place of rest, we become people who can offer others the full attention he has always given us.

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Where does Jesus want us? Close. He invites himself into the lives of seemingly all the wrong people, and what he offers them is not a program or a prescription—it is his presence. The table picture he gives us emphasizes friendship, conversation, curiosity, hospitality, and ordinary everyday connection. There is a physical intimacy to sharing a meal with someone. You sit face to face, the meal takes time, and you linger. This is the kind of spiritual leader Jesus is—not a drill sergeant, not a detached monk, but someone who pulls up a chair and stays.

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Jesus sends out seventy-two of his followers into the ordinary uncertainty of life—not just the leadership team, not just the clergy. Everyone carries a call. He sends them partnered, because there is power in partnership, and he sends them out carrying his peace: not merely a wish, but something tangible that can be transmitted and received.

At some point, those followers find themselves somewhere unfamiliar, asking the natural question: now what? The bills, the deadlines, the endless ordinary things make it easy to lose sight of the bigger picture. Jesus anticipates this, and his answer comes in three clear commands—eat, heal, say—each one answering a question we ask in those moments.

Find a table. The table was where Jesus did some of his best work. His instruction to his followers was not to rush past it but to linger, to receive, to let life and mission move at the speed of real connection. Aim for healing. The practical question in every friendship is simply: what is this person going through? That place of pain or uncertainty is exactly where kingdom restoration is most needed. Say something. To say the kingdom of God has come near is to say: God sees you, knows you, and because he is here, a different life is possible—not distant, not theoretical, but near.

Jesus is honest that not every door will open. Rejection is real, and it can feel like death. But the power to face it doesn't come from our own resolve—it comes from looking at what Jesus chose. He came eating and healing, and what the world gave him in return was the cross. When that becomes real to us, it sends us back out, open-handed, willing to risk again.

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The fifth commandment tells us to honor our father and mother—but for many, that word carries baggage. It can sound like a call to perform, to obey without question, to stay silent about pain. Before real honor is possible, honesty has to come first: honest about how the people we're supposed to honor may have caused us deep pain, and honest that our memories are stories shaped by perspective, not objective recordings.

This command was never just for children. It was given to grown adults with aging, frail parents—and it sits at the hinge point of the Ten Commandments, bridging our relationship with God and our relationships with each other. The Hebrew word for honor, kabed, means heavy, weighty, substantial. To honor someone is to treat them as having worth—not because they've earned it, but the same way a baby is cared for simply because they belong to us.

For those who grew up with parents who weren't safe, honor doesn't require unsafe proximity. Kabed can be carried in the heart, without hatred, even from a distance. Every earthly parent will eventually disappoint, fail, or leave—and that ache points us to the one Father who never does.

The good news is that whatever we bring to this—gratitude, grief, anger, or longing for a parent we never had—we can bring it honestly to God, who heals what needs healing and meets us right where we are.

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Jesus encounters a crowd that has grown up around the things of God and is still hungry, weary, and searching for hope. Rather than turning them away, He has compassion on them and welcomes them into His care.

While the disciples focus on what they lack, Jesus focuses on what He can do. He takes their small offering, multiplies it, and feeds thousands. In the process, He teaches them that they do not need to be the answer—they simply need to bring what they have and connect people to Him.

The miracle points beyond physical bread to a deeper reality. Jesus later explains that He is the Bread of Life. He is the true source of the security, satisfaction, and hope we spend our lives searching for in other places. What the crowd needed most was not simply food for a day, but a Savior who could satisfy the deepest hunger of the human heart.

The good news is that Jesus still meets people in their weariness and need. He invites us to stop looking elsewhere for what only He can provide and to find our deepest fulfillment in Him.

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We spend much of our lives searching for fulfillment—in success, security, relationships, purpose, or better circumstances. In Luke 4, Jesus stands in the synagogue, reads from Isaiah, and makes a stunning claim: “Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.” He declares that the hopes, longings, and promises people have been waiting for are fulfilled in Him.

The good news is not simply that Jesus fulfills the story of the world; He fulfills our stories as well. He meets ordinary people in their ordinary struggles and invites them into something greater. Wherever we feel incomplete, He offers Himself as the answer.

Yet Jesus fulfills our stories on His terms, not ours. We often want the blessings He brings while resisting His leadership. We want changed circumstances, but Jesus continually points us back to something deeper—His presence. True fulfillment is not ultimately found in getting everything we want, but in knowing Him.

The invitation is simple: bring your deepest longings to Jesus and discover that the fulfillment you are searching for is not found in a better situation, but in a relationship with Him.

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Jesus describes the kingdom of God as a mustard seed that grows into a great tree. Though it begins small, hidden, and easily overlooked, it is moving toward something expansive, beautiful, and restorative. The endgame of the kingdom shapes how we live now: God is building something far greater than we can presently see.

The challenge is that the kingdom rarely looks impressive at first. Jesus hides His work in ordinary places, through ordinary people, and in quiet acts of faithfulness. While the world chases visibility, power, and status, the kingdom grows through humility, sacrifice, and dependence on God.

At the center of this kingdom is a different kind of tree—the cross. Jesus advances His kingdom not through domination, but through self-giving love. And through the Holy Spirit, He sends His people into the world as carriers of His restoring presence.

The invitation is to live with expectancy. Even when the work feels small or hidden, God is growing something eternal. The mustard seed may seem insignificant today, but Jesus promises it is becoming a tree that brings healing to the nations.

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FIND, SELL, BUY // Matthew 13:44-46

In Matthew 13:44–46, Jesus compares the Kingdom to a treasure buried in a field and a pearl of great value—something people pass by every day without recognizing its worth. The kingdom appears in overlooked places, among ordinary people, and through a King the world did not expect.

To receive the kingdom requires a complete reordering of value. The men in the parables sell everything because they realize what they have found is worth more than anything they already possess. Following Jesus is not simply adding spirituality onto an existing life—it is building your whole life around Him.

But the beauty of the gospel is that Jesus did this first. Before we gave anything for Him, He gave everything for us. He saw us as the treasure worth pursuing and laid down His life to bring us home.

The invitation is simple: stop admiring the kingdom from a distance and buy the field. Trust that life with Jesus is worth surrendering everything for.

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We often try to understand Jesus while staying safely in the crowd—close enough to listen, but distant enough to avoid surrender. But in Matthew 13, Jesus leaves the crowd and goes into the house, and only the disciples follow Him there. The movement is intentional: the kingdom is not understood from a distance. It is received by those willing to step closer, wrestle honestly, and respond to the King.

Jesus describes the kingdom as a field where wheat and weeds grow together. In a world full of counterfeits, not everything that looks alive carries the DNA of the kingdom. There are counterfeit versions of belonging, peace, success, and spirituality that promise life but cannot truly heal or satisfy. The kingdom of God offers something different: a new way of being human under the leadership of a different kind of King.

At the center of this kingdom is not power or domination, but the cross. Jesus gathers people not through force, but through self-giving love. He invites the overlooked, the broken, and the lost to His table, making room for them through His own sacrifice. This is the true DNA of the kingdom.

The invitation is simple but costly: leave the safety of the crowd and move toward Jesus. Learn to recognize the real thing in a world of imitation. Receive the kingdom by receiving the King—His leadership, His love, and His way of the cross. Because in the end, everything false will fade, but what is rooted in Him will endure.

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We long to grow, yet we often wonder why the life of God doesn’t seem to take root as deeply as we expect. In Matthew 13:1–23, Jesus tells a simple story about a sower and seeds—but beneath it is a searching truth: the issue is never the generosity of God, but the condition of our hearts. The same word is scattered everywhere, the same invitation extended again and again, yet the outcomes are strikingly different.

Jesus names what we often overlook. Some moments pass us by because our hearts have grown hard—worn down by hurry, distraction, or quiet resistance. Others begin with joy but fade under pressure, revealing roots that never went deep. Still others are slowly choked by the weight of everyday cares and misplaced desires. He is not condemning; He is revealing. The parable becomes a mirror, showing us how we receive—or fail to receive—the life God is offering.

And yet, the aim is not exposure but transformation. The invitation is to become good soil—to cultivate a heart that can truly receive. This kind of heart doesn’t happen by accident. It is formed as we respond to God’s quiet invitations, allow trials to deepen our trust, and honestly name the things that compete for our attention and affection. When we do, something begins to change beneath the surface.

Because when the word of the kingdom finally takes root, it does more than inform us—it reshapes us. It grows into a life marked by quiet, steady fruit, a life that begins to reflect the character of the One who planted it. And in that process, we discover that what God has been offering all along was not just truth to understand, but life to receive.

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In Matthew 13:10–17, Jesus speaks in parables, not to obscure truth, but to reveal something deeper: that the kingdom of God is not merely information to grasp, but a reality to receive. His stories draw a line between hearing and truly perceiving, between listening and actually responding.

And so the question shifts from What is Jesus saying? to How are we responding? Parables become what we might call divine bids—God’s ongoing invitations for attention, trust, and nearness. Yet Jesus is honest that not everyone perceives them, not because God is silent, but because hearts can grow dull, distracted, or resistant over time.

The goal is never distance but healing: “turn and I would heal them.” The kingdom is revealed to those willing to respond, to let their guard down, and to bring their real condition before Jesus. What we carry—confusion, weariness, inconsistency, even resistance—is not a barrier to Him, but exactly what He is willing to meet. And in that meeting, the invitation remains simple and steady: to turn, to receive, and to find that He is already willing to restore what we bring.

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We often want our stories to end with clear victories, but in 2 Samuel 22, David ends his life with a song. After all the highs and failures, he looks back and realizes that even in the promised land, life still felt like a wilderness. Yet it was in that very place that he encountered God most deeply.

The wilderness was not wasted. It became the place where David discovered God as his rock, his refuge, and his deliverer—not in theory, but in lived experience. Under pressure and uncertainty, he came to know God not just as powerful, but as personal—both a warrior who fights for him and a gentle presence who sustains him.

In that same place, God was also forming something in David. What looked like weakness—surrounding himself with the distressed and overlooked—became the foundation of a people and a calling. The wilderness was not just where David survived; it was where his identity and purpose were shaped.

This song reminds us that the wilderness is not the absence of God, but often the place where we see Him most clearly. It is where we learn that we are not the foundation of our own lives—and that we need a rock to run to.

The invitation is simple: give Him your wilderness. Instead of escaping or resisting it, run to God within it. Because what feels like chaos may actually be the place where He becomes most real, most present, and most transformative in your life.

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We often want to hide our failures, minimize them, or move past them quickly. But in 2 Samuel 11–12, David’s story forces us to face a hard truth: even the best can fall, and when they do, the consequences are real. His failure is not a single moment, but a spiral—neglect, desire, action, and destruction—showing how sin grows when it is left unaddressed.

Sin is not just about guilt or labels; it is about truth. It names the deep misalignment in us that leads to brokenness in our relationship with God, others, and ourselves. And unless it is named honestly, it cannot be healed.

Yet the story does not end in failure. God sees, and God speaks. Through confrontation, David is brought to repentance—not just regret over consequences, but an awareness of his need for God. And this is where everything shifts.

What David longs for most is not the removal of consequences, but the restoration of God’s presence. More than a repaired life, he wants a restored relationship. He realizes that even if everything else falls apart, having God is enough.

The invitation is to give God your greatest failures. Not to hide them, but to bring them into the light. To allow Him to reveal what is broken and to trust that what He offers—His presence, His grace, and real transformation—is better than anything we could hold onto.

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At the center of the Christian faith is one defining reality: the resurrection of Jesus. In 1 Corinthians 15, Paul makes it clear that everything hangs on this. If Jesus did not rise, then faith is empty, sin remains, and death still has the final word. But if He has been raised, then everything changes.

The resurrection is not an optional belief—it is the foundation. It forces a response. We cannot simply admire Jesus as a teacher; if He truly rose, then His claims are true and His authority is absolute. The good news of the gospel is not just that Jesus lived well, but that He conquered death itself.

This is also deeply personal. The resurrection is not just something to believe about—it is something to experience. Jesus is not distant; He is alive and present. The same power that raised Him from the dead is at work, bringing spiritually dead people to life even now.

Through His death and resurrection, we are given a new identity. We are not just forgiven—we are made alive and brought into relationship with God as His sons and daughters. This is not something we earn, but something we receive.

The invitation is to live in that reality. To see ourselves no longer defined by sin or death, but by the life Jesus has given us. If the resurrection is true, then death is not the end, and our lives are not meaningless. It becomes both our foundation and our future—calling us to live fully alive to God.

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Over time, life can quietly form cynicism in us—lowering our expectations and dulling our sense of awe. But in 2 Samuel 7, David shows us a different way: a life marked by wonder. At rest and established as king, he begins to ask a deeper question: What is God worth? His desire to build God a house flows from a heart that wants to align everything—his ambition, resources, and purpose—with the greatness of God.

Yet God interrupts his plan. Instead of receiving from David, He reminds him that He has always been present and at work—and then makes a greater promise: “I will build you a house.” In that moment, David realizes he is not starting from nothing; he is already standing in the goodness and grace of God. What he offers is small compared to what God gives. You cannot outgive God.

This revelation shifts David from striving to wonder. He sits before the Lord in awe, recognizing that everything he has is a gift. His response is worship—declaring God’s greatness and trusting His promises for the future, especially the promise of steadfast love that will never depart.

The invitation is to live in that same wonder. To move from control to trust, from striving to receiving. To align our lives with God’s worth and “take the trade”—offering our small, imperfect lives and receiving His overwhelming grace in return. When we do, cynicism begins to lose its grip, and joy is restored.

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We often give parts of our lives to God, while holding other parts back—guarded by fear, pride, or the need to appear in control. In 2 Samuel 6, David shows us a different response. As the presence of God returns, he celebrates with everything he has—dancing freely, even to the point of looking foolish. His joy is not about appearances, but about the reality that God is with him.

This raises the deeper question: why would anyone live with that kind of surrender? Because of a promise—I will be with you. If God is truly present and personally involved, then He is worth everything. David’s response flows from that certainty.

Yet many of us hesitate. Like Michal, we filter our response through dignity, expectations, and fear of what others might think. Sometimes we hold back because of how we were formed. Other times, because we’ve been hurt.

The invitation is to close the gap between what we believe and how we live. Giving God everything begins with recognizing His presence and honestly facing what holds us back. As we bring our fear, control, and pain to Him—often in the context of community—we begin to trust again.

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We all carry grief, disappointment, and pain—but many of us have learned to hide our tears. We equate composure with strength and emotion with weakness. Yet unexpressed grief does not disappear; it goes underground. In 2 Samuel 1, Scripture invites us into a different way: lament—the act of honestly bringing our pain before God.

Tears are truth tellers. They reveal the gap between what is and what should be, exposing the deeper longings and losses within us. Rather than suppressing them, lament teaches us to turn toward God, name what is wrong, ask for His help, and anchor ourselves in trust. It is not a shortcut to praise, but a pathway through pain.

David models this when he grieves Saul’s death. Instead of hardening his heart or numbing his sorrow, he weeps, fasts, and even writes a song to give voice to his grief. He shows us that expressing pain is not weakness—it is a way of staying tender before God.

This is grounded in the heart of God Himself. Jesus weeps. He does not rush past sorrow but enters into it, revealing a God who is present in our pain. Because of Him, we can bring our tears honestly, knowing they are seen and valued.

The invitation is simple: give God your tears. What feels like loss in the moment becomes, in His hands, something more. Scripture promises that those who sow in tears will reap with joy. God does not waste our grief—He uses it to soften our hearts, draw us closer, and ultimately transform sorrow into something beautiful.

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We will all face moments when someone brings real pain into our lives. The question is not whether we will be hurt, but what we will do with that hurt. In 1 Samuel 24, David finds himself living in the wilderness, pursued by Saul, the very king he once served. When the opportunity for revenge finally appears, David chooses a different path.

Instead of taking justice into his own hands, David relinquishes revenge, remembers that Saul ultimately belongs to God, and entrusts judgment to the Lord. He refuses to define Saul only by his wrongdoing and even seeks the flourishing of the one who has caused him suffering.

This kind of forgiveness is costly. Releasing revenge does not erase the pain or deny the wrong that was done. It means trusting that God sees and will ultimately make things right. In doing so, we step out of the cycle of bitterness and into deeper dependence on Him.

Ultimately, this story points beyond David to Jesus. While we are called to forgive like David, we often resemble Saul—careless, foolish, and capable of harm. Yet Jesus, the greater King, bears the cost of forgiveness Himself. When we give God our enemies and entrust our wounds to Him, we discover something deeper than justice alone: the nearness of God, the life of His family, and the adventure of His kingdom.

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At the height of his power, David does something no one expects. Instead of eliminating the remnants of Saul’s household, he asks if there is anyone left to whom he can show covenant kindness. In 2 Samuel 9, strength expresses itself not through dominance, but through hesed—steadfast, promise-keeping love.

The search leads to Mephibosheth, a man with no leverage, no status, and no power. Lame in both feet and living in Lo-Debar—a place of “nothing”—he embodies weakness in a world that worships strength. When he is summoned before the king, he expects judgment. He calls himself a “dead dog,” convinced he has nothing to offer.

But grace interrupts expectation. David restores his inheritance and gives him a permanent seat at the king’s table. He had nothing. He offered nothing. Yet he received everything.

This story reveals more than David’s character—it reflects the heart of God. Like Mephibosheth, we come with no résumé to impress the King. There are no prerequisites for His kindness, no performance that secures His welcome. And yet, through Christ, we are invited to the table.

The invitation is simple: give Him your nothing. Bring the shame, the weakness, the parts of your story that feel like Lo-Debar. What we cannot earn, He freely gives. And as recipients of that covenant kindness, we become people who extend it—welcoming the overlooked, loving without calculation, and echoing the heart of the King.

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We long for joy, yet we live in a world marked by evil, suffering, and death. We often assume that if sorrow is present, joy must be absent. But in John 16:20–22, Jesus is utterly honest: “You will weep and lament… you will be sorrowful.” He does not deny the pain of life—He names it.

Yet He also makes a staggering promise: “Your sorrow will turn into joy.” Not a fragile joy dependent on circumstances, but a permanent joy powerful enough to transform pain itself. Like childbirth that gives way to overwhelming gladness, Jesus speaks of a future meeting with Him so certain and so glorious that it will one day reach back into our present grief and reframe it.

The invitation is not to escape sorrow, but to anchor our hope in the One we will see face to face. Instead of building our lives on what can be taken from us, we are called to center our hearts on Jesus—the source of a joy that cannot be stolen. When our future with Him becomes the centerpiece of our hope, we become a community of joy even in a world of pain.

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We spend much of our lives giving our hearts to things that promise security—careers, approval, success, or control. We look for something visible and strong to organize our lives, but the wrong kings always take more than they give.

1 Samuel 16 shows a different kind of King and a different kind of life. While others chase appearance and achievement, God looks at the heart. He sees the overlooked, the hidden, and the unfinished places we often ignore.

The invitation is simple: instead of striving to manage every external condition, give God your heart. Trust the King who sees you, speaks to you, and raises you up in His time. What we surrender to the right King, He restores with His presence.

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Jesus says that we were made for "Full Joy" -- marked by awe, wonder, delight, security, and peace.

Yet, the reality is that locating joy can be difficult and the pursuit of joy can be dysfunctional.

So, how do we come to experience the "full joy" that Jesus promises?

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January mornings are often slow, quiet, and heavy—the first half hour of the day can feel like just waking up.

Yet that early, honest moment can become sacred when we allow God to meet us there. Isaiah 63–64 shows us how facing reality—our guilt, fatigue, or disconnection—opens space for God’s presence.

The invitation is simple: in the first half hour, honestly acknowledge where you are, then make a raw, expectant plea for God to break in. What starts quiet can become explosive, and what feels weak is never wasted.

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So much of how we relate to God is shaped by how we’ve related to our earthly fathers. Our expectations of God—how close He feels, how patient we believe He is, what we think He requires of us—are often informed by those early relationships.

Which leads to an honest and necessary question: Have I actually been living like a child of God?

Even when we intellectually affirm the gospel, we can still live out of either an orphan mentality or a slave mentality. Luke 15 and the parable of the Prodigal Son shows us how we can return home and experience the love of the Father.

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Beginnings MatterHow we start things shapes what follows. The beginning sets the direction, the tone, and the posture of our hearts. But instead of beginning the year with a focus on the will we exert (e.g. resolutions that stems from an experience of insecurity), we begin with a focus on what we receive!

The priestly blessing in Numbers 6:24–26 is repeated because it is meant to be powerful and lived. It is God’s heart spoken over His people. We repeat it at the end of our service with the hope that what we experience together in the room can be carried into the rest of the week. The presence of God is not meant to stay in a service—it is meant to shape everyday life.

We want to begin the year not by trying harder, but by receiving what God already desires to give.

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Story from Patrick Kim

At the core of Christian celebration of Christmas is a single question with a truth so staggering, it is what theologian, J.I. Packer, described as the “supreme mystery” of Gospel.

Scripture is honest that this truth—God becoming human—can be difficult to comprehend. Luke 1–2 shows us that God does not simply announce this staggering reality; He prepares us to receive it.

For Images Referenced in the Sermon

In 2 Corinthians 1, Paul reminds the church that God is “the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort,” who comforts us in our affliction—not by removing suffering, but by joining us in it.

Jean shows us from this passage that comfort is not optional in the life of God’s people—it is essential. God meets us in suffering, and then sends us to carry that same comfort to others.The promise of the gospel, Jean explains, is not escape from pain, but presence within it. We will suffer, but we are never alone, and our suffering is never wasted—it is redemptive.

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For full recap and discussion questions - see this link.

In this sermon, we see that Jesus changes now only "why" we give but also "how" we give. The author, Paul, writes that those who follow Jesus are to give aggressively. We unpack why we can be reluctant to do that and why we ought/get to. Through this practice of "aggressive giving" we see that God wants to encounter us "aboundingly, personally, and holistically."

Series: Jesus Changes EverythingDriving Question: If Jesus changes everything, how does He change what we live for?

In this sermon, we see how living for Jesus is something we "get to do" and not merely something we "have to do". Living for Jesus not only frees us from man-made scorecards that leave us exhausted, but also invites us to transformational seasons of "wrestling" where God pulls us in close and reminds us that He holds our future.

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2 Corinthians is a letter written in pain, not after it. Paul invites us into his raw, honest weakness—and inside that weakness, he discovers a hidden strength. The phrase that ties together his hope amid pain and struggle is this:

“For when I am weak, then I am strong.”

Not “strong-strong,” the kind we prefer, but a paradoxical strength that is only available in weakness.

2 Corinthians 8: How does Jesus transform the way we relate to money?

Money promises security, significance, and satisfaction. But it lies. It cannot give that to you/us.

Giving Is Not Primarily About Capacity
The “Riches” Jesus Gives
What Now? Accept, Repent, Risk

2 Corinthians 1.12-22
How does this Jesus logic apply to how we make plans and decisions?

Live with Undivided Commitment to Jesus in the "Small"
Recognize That God is in the Room
Make People Your Mission
Give Jesus Your Full "Yes"

For sermon summary email hello@citychapel.nyc

In this message from Jesus Changes Everything, we explore how the relentless love of God meets us where we are and transforms who we become through the story of Saul in Acts 9.

Jesus comes to Saul unexpectedly—showing that grace begins with God’s initiative, not our effort or "worthiness". He puts Saul on the ground to humble and reorient him, reminding us that the frustration of our agenda can be love in disguise. In blindness, Jesus places Saul within a new company, teaching him to receive the companionship of other Jesus followers. Finally, Jesus marks him with a new name and purpose—to carry His name to the world.

The same relentless love that met Saul still meets us today—interrupting, restoring, and sending us out as people marked by His name.

For more extended summary, email hello@citychapel.nyc.

Acts 1:6–11 + 1 Thessalonians 4 | Jesus as Coming King

Series: Jesus Changes EverythingDriving Question: What hope do we have that Jesus is a Coming King—and how does that hope shape the way we live today?

1. What Jesus Brings When He Returns

It’s hard to untangle what we think about Jesus’ return from the images we’ve absorbed—from Left Behind books, movies, and cultural depictions filled with fear, rapture, and chaos. But Scripture paints a very different picture: a returning King who brings restoration, not panic.

When Jesus returns, He brings:

Reunion – “God will bring with Him those who have fallen asleep in Christ” (1 Thessalonians 4:13).
Our hope is not in escaping the world, but in reunion—those we’ve loved and lost will rise to meet Him. Death will not have the final word.
Our truest selves – When He appears, “we will be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is.” In that moment, every part of us that feels incomplete or unknown will finally be made whole. We will finally become who we were always meant to be.
A world remade – Heaven and earth will be joined together again. What was lost in Eden will be restored in full—God and humanity dwelling together in unbroken communion. The story ends not with escape from the world but with renewal of it.
Himself – The greatest hope of all is not just reunion or renewal—it’s relationship. Jesus will be with us face to face. Every longing, every ache for home, will find its answer in Him.

2. When Will It Happen?

Jesus’ disciples asked, “Lord, will You at this time restore the kingdom?” (Acts 1:6). Jesus responded not with a timeline but with a mission: “You will be My witnesses.”

N.T. Wright says, “When Scripture talks about the future, it gives us signposts, not snapshots.” The point is not prediction, but preparation. The kingdom has already begun—Jesus reigns now through His Spirit in His people—but the fullness of His reign is still to come.

No one knows the day or hour. Don’t get lost chasing predictions or online theories. The truth is: we’re called not to speculate but to live faithfully in light of His coming.

3. Why This Hope Matters Now
Believing that Jesus is the Coming King gives us everyday hope—for when life feels unsure, unfair, or uneven.

When life feels unsure
Hope reorients us. Even if we don’t know when Jesus will return, we live with the future in view. We aim our lives toward heaven.
As C.S. Lewis said, “Aim at heaven and you’ll get earth thrown in; aim at earth and you’ll get neither.” This hope doesn’t make us escapists—it makes us dream bigger, live bolder, and bring glimpses of the coming kingdom into today.
When life feels unfair (Luke 18:1–8)
The persistent widow reminds us that God’s justice is coming. When Christ returns, the world will be truly just—the wrongs made right, the oppressed restored, and the righteous vindicated. Until then, we keep praying and pleading for the kingdom to come on earth as it is in heaven.
When life feels uneven
“No one gets the life they want,” Tim Keller said. Life feels uneven, unpredictable, and fragile. But even in the unevenness, we trust that when Christ appears, transformation begins—the renewal of all things, the restoration of Eden.
There is One greater than Brady, whose hands are sure and whose victory is certain. Because Jesus reigns, the final outcome is not in doubt. Heaven on earth will become true again.

Pray
Lord Jesus, our Coming King, thank You for the promise that You will return to make all things new. When life feels unsure, unfair, or uneven, help us to live with heaven in view. Strengthen our hope, renew our hearts, and teach

Series: Jesus Changes EverythingDriving Question: What does it mean that Jesus is our Sanctifier—and why should we cherish this part of who He is?

1. What God Is Like

When Scripture calls Jesus our Sanctifier, it reveals something about God’s nature. The word “sanctify” comes from the Greek hagios—the same word for holy. To be sanctified means “to be made holy.”

But holy doesn’t just mean nice or morally good. It’s not a Ned Flanders kind of “clean” holiness. In Isaiah 6, when the prophet encounters God, the room shakes, angels cry out “Holy, holy, holy,” and Isaiah falls in awe.

God’s holiness is stunning—a raw, beautiful power that stands against all the disorder and rebellion of the world. His very existence is a threat to everything unraveling in creation.

When we say Jesus is Sanctifier, we’re saying His holiness doesn’t just stay distant—it moves toward us. It changes us. It invites us into awe, wonder, and transformation.

2. What God Wants for Us

1 Thessalonians 4:3 says, “This is the will of God—your sanctification.”God doesn’t just want you to be a “nice person.” He wants you to resemble Him—to share in His stunning beauty and goodness.

C.S. Lewis wrote in Mere Christianity that God’s goal is not to make better men and women of the old kind, but a new kind of person. “It’s not like teaching a horse to jump better,” Lewis says, “but like turning a horse into a winged creature.”

That’s what sanctification is—God transforming you from creature to child.

At the heart of this transformation is one question: Do you believe you matter to God?The enemy’s main strategy is to make you doubt it—to make you feel like a faceless person in a sea of others. But sanctification is God’s declaration that you matter deeply to Him.

You no longer have to beg for others to affirm your worth—you already matter to the One who is stunning beyond all else. And what He’s doing is reshaping your life so that you begin to resemble Him

3. When and How God Does It

1 John 3:2–3 says that “when we see Him, we shall be like Him.”Sanctification is both future and present. One day we will see Jesus face to face and be fully like Him—but even now, the process has begun. (2 Corinthians 3.18)

As we look at Jesus—in prayer, worship, and the gathered life of the church—something within us is being transformed. As we behold Him, we begin to resemble Him. Every moment of worship, every act of surrender, every time we fix our eyes on Jesus, the Spirit is quietly reshaping us to look more like Him.

We are being sanctified—made holy—not through striving, but through beholding.

Pray
Holy God, You are stunning beyond measure. Thank You that You not only save us but sanctify us. Help me believe that I matter to You, and form me to resemble You in every part of my life. As I look at Jesus, may Your Spirit transform me more and more into His likeness. Make our church a community that lives in awe, wonder, and holiness that reflects You. Amen.

Driving Question: What does it mean that Jesus is our Healer—and how do we participate in His healing work today?

1. God’s Deep Desire for Healing

From Genesis to Revelation, the story of Scripture is the story of a God who heals what sin has broken.

Ezekiel 47 gives us a vision of a river flowing from the temple—the river of life—bringing healing wherever it goes. This river represents God’s presence, His heart to restore His world.

But why is there so much to heal? When sin and death entered the world, everything fractured—our relationship with God, with each other, and even with ourselves. The Hebrew word shabar (Isaiah 61) means “to be broken beyond repair.” Only God can heal that kind of brokenness.

Healing is not a side project of Jesus—it is central to His mission. God desired healing so deeply that He sent His Son to bind up the brokenhearted and restore what was lost.

2. How Jesus Heals

Jesus healed in miraculous ways—He made the blind see, the lame walk, and the sick whole. These healings weren’t just ancient stories; they are still available for us today through the Spirit’s power.

But Jesus also healed in quieter, deeper ways—through His loving presence.

He ate with sinners, welcomed the outcasts, called Zacchaeus by name, and restored Peter after his failure. He healed through compassion, through relationship, and through time spent with those others avoided.

Jesus didn’t just save us and leave us broken—He saved us and began healing us.

Even today, many of us still live out of unhealed places. We strive, perform, and carry the broken patterns of generations before us—whether through survival, comparison, or self-protection. But Jesus is still healing those internal wounds. He is forming us into people who are safe for others, breaking cycles of fear and striving so that His peace can flow through us.

3. Our Hope for Healing

Our hope begins and ends in God’s faithfulness. He will go to great lengths to heal you.

Revelation 21 gives us the ultimate promise: a day when there will be no more mourning, no more crying, no more pain, no more death. That is God’s final plan—and we can trust that He will finish what He started.

Right now, we live in the messy middle. Jesus has come and begun the healing process, and God will one day complete it. Healing takes time and often feels painful, but as Paul reminds us in 2 Corinthians 4:16, “our inner self is being renewed day by day.”

And not only is He healing us—He’s inviting us to join Him. We don’t do the healing; Christ does. But His presence and love in us can bring healing to others. Healed people heal people. Every act of grace, listening, and compassion becomes a small river of life flowing through us.

Pray
Lord Jesus, thank You that You did not merely save us but you are also actively healing us. Help us to trust Your process when it feels slow or painful. Make us people whose presence brings healing to others, and help our church become a place where Your river of life flows freely. Heal us, Lord, and make us healers through Your Spirit. Amen.

Driving Question:
Do you need saving? As you reflect on your life—in your actions, your presence in the world, your work, your city—do you truly feel like you need a Savior? And if so, do you want one?

1. The Reason We Are Always Exhausted

Many of us functionally depend on ourselves to be our own savior. We try to manage life, fix our problems, and carry our burdens alone. This self-reliance can leave us anxious, exhausted, and restless. Like the Pharisee in Jesus’ parable, we trust in our own performance and sense of “enoughness.” The problem is that this posture closes our hearts to mercy. When we think we are fine on our own, we miss out on the experience of Jesus as Savior.

2. Two Choices for Approaching God

In Luke 18, Jesus contrasts two men praying at the temple:

The Pharisee: Self-satisfied, confident, and blind to his own need for rescue. He is fine in his own eyes and misses the doorway to salvation.
The Tax Collector: Standing far off, unable to even look up, acknowledging his weakness, and saying, “God, have mercy on me, a sinner.”

The tax collector’s posture—humble, desperate, and fully aware of his need—is the picture of someone ready to call out for divine intervention. Weakness, not strength, becomes the gateway to transformation. When life is overwhelming and painful, it’s tempting to escape, numb, control, or fight. Jesus suggests a different first step: simply stand before the only one who can save you and say, “Lord, have mercy on me.”

3. “God, you are my only hope”

To say, “Jesus is Savior,” is to live in dependence rather than control. It’s to acknowledge: God, You are my only hope. This posture isn’t just an occasional prayer—it’s the organizing principle of Scripture and life. No matter the circumstances, no matter the depth of our pain, the goal is to repeatedly return to this truth: God is my only hope.True freedom isn’t about being self-sufficient; it’s about trusting that Jesus has already done what matters most. It’s about experiencing the mercy that meets us in our weakness and learning to live from it daily.

Pray: Lord, teach me to depend on You as my only hope. Thank You for mercy that meets me in my weakness and makes me whole. Let my life reflect the freedom that comes from knowing I am already loved and already Yours. Amen.

Driving Question:
Why do we fight for truth? Because Jesus says, “You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free” (John 8:32). But what kind of freedom does He mean?

1. The Power and Danger of Freedom
Freedom is one of the most powerful words in our imagination. In art, media, and culture, the moment freedom is mentioned is the moment of breakthrough. But if we don’t know what it means, we are at risk of being manipulated. If we settle for pop culture’s definition—“happiness comes from doing whatever I want without limits”—we miss the freedom Jesus actually offers. Instead of being free, we end up more bound.

2. The Freedom Jesus Offers

Biblical freedom is not unlimited choice but restored relationship. In Eden, humanity’s freedom was connection with the Father, but we ran from home. That’s why we still ache for something greater—Eden is written in our hearts. Jesus came to reconnect us to the Father. Eternal life is this: not just saber/alam (knowing facts) but conocer/kilala (knowing a person).

Like the prodigal son in Luke 15, freedom apart from the Father only led to slavery. True freedom is the invitation to come home—life with the Father, through the Son, in the Spirit.

3. Living in This Freedom

To be serious about freedom is to ask daily: How do I stay connected to the Father? Freedom is not being unbound from everything, but being bound to the right Someone—Jesus and His people. He came so that we could know God deeply and live life to the full, both now and Forever.

Pray
Lord, free me from chasing counterfeit versions of freedom. Thank You that Jesus came to bring me home and reconnect me to You. Help me to live each day bound to You, secure in Your love, and make our church a place where many discover the freedom of knowing the Father through the Son, in the Spirit. Amen.

Driving Questions: We fight lies with Truth. But what is the nature of Truth in Scripture? Why is it so hard to experience the power of Truth?

What is the nature of Biblical Truth? Truth is Relational

Scripture shows that truth is not just abstract facts in a container or arguments to be won—it is relational truth.
Jesus says, “I am the way, the truth, and the life.” To pursue truth is to pursue a relationship with Jesus, grounded in His hesed love—a never stopping, never giving up, always and forever love.

Why is it so hard to experience the power of Truth? Our Fears.

In John 11:45–53, even after seeing Jesus raise Lazarus, the leaders could not experience TRUTH because fear was animating their hearts.
Religious leaders could not “see” Jesus because they worried about what could be “taken away” - their place and their nation.
Reflect: What are you afraid can be/will be taken from you?

Jesus shows up to “take away” our sins - which is the actual barrier that keeps us from experiencing the “life to the full” promised by Jesus.

At the center of the gospel is this: Jesus takes away that which threatens the connection we long to experience. John calls Him “the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world”—the very barrier that keeps us from the Father. Sin and separation are removed so we can come home.

Summary: From this passage we see that freedom comes as we: 1) name the fears that animate our lies, 2) trust Jesus as the Lamb who takes away both sin and the ultimate threat, and 3) live together as a community that helps one another walk into relational truth.

PRAY

(Pray for freedom from fear) Lord, reveal the fears that quietly shape my life and feed the lies I believe. Thank You that Jesus has taken away sin, and with it, the threat of losing what matters most—our place with You. Teach me to pursue truth not as facts but as relationship with You. Make our church a community that helps one another uproot lies, confront fear, and live secure in Your never-ending love. Amen.

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Lies are not always obvious falsehoods; often they’re subtle distortions that sound familiar and even reasonable. For Jean, one of the lies she has carried is: “I don’t belong, I’m not wanted.”
Genesis 3 shows the serpent’s strategy: he questions God’s Word, contradicts it, attacks God’s character, and offers an alternative authority. That same pattern is still at work today.
These lies disintegrate us—from ourselves (through shame), from others (through isolation), and from God (through mistrust). Guilt says, “I did something wrong.” Shame says, “I am something wrong.” Lies work like weeds—invasive, spreading, choking out life.
So how do we uproot them?
1. Notice the disintegration – pay attention to patterns of withdrawal, defensiveness, or spiritual numbness.
2. Identify the lie – what story is it telling you about your worth, your place, your future?
3. Trace it back – often there’s a memory at the root.
4. Forgive – yourself, others, even the people who planted it.
5. Replace with truth – Scripture crowds out the lie with God’s reality.
In Matthew 4, Jesus shows us how to respond. When confronted with lies, He didn’t argue—He declared God’s Word. Scripture is our primary weapon, and identity truths must be planted before the attack comes.
From this passage we see that freedom comes as we: 1) notice and name the lies, 2) replace them with the truth of Scripture, and 3) trust God to redeem even the deepest lie into something beautiful for His purpose.

Pray

(Pray for truth to take root) Father, I confess the lies I’ve believed about myself—that (name the lies). Thank You that in Christ those lies are uprooted and replaced with Your truth. Teach me to notice disintegration, to forgive, and to plant Your Word deep in my heart. Redeem what the enemy meant for harm, and turn it into something beautiful for Your glory. Amen.

Jesus longs for you to experience supernatural freedom. Galatians 5 says: “It is for freedom that Christ has set us free.” But something stands in the way—and it is the reality of an opportunistic Enemy that preys upon the broken places of our soul.
Three foundational questions help us see this clearly:
- Is there an enemy? — Luke 22: Satan is real. He demanded Peter by name, wanting to sift him like wheat. The enemy’s desire is always your destruction.
- What is he made of? — John 8: “When he lies, he speaks his native tongue, for he is a liar and the father of lies.” The devil’s entire character is deception.
- How does he operate? — By whispering lies into your soul: “You’re not sincere enough… You’ll never hold on… You’re beyond grace.” These aren’t harmless thoughts—they’re lies we begin to live in, shaping our identity and stealing our joy.
- But Jesus does not leave us defenseless. He gives us things we can stand in:
- Stand in His prayers – “I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail.” Even in weakness, you are upheld.
- Stand in His words – “If you abide in my word, you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” His truth dismantles lies.
- Stand in His community – “When you have turned again, strengthen your brothers.” Freedom is sustained when we walk in truth together.
- From this passage we see that freedom comes as: 1) naming the enemy’s lies, 2) standing in what Jesus has already given us, and 3) refusing to fight alone.

Pray

(Pray for freedom and strength) Lord, I confess that I have lived in lies that keep me bound. Thank You that You pray for me, that Your Word speaks truth, and that Your people surround me with grace. Strengthen me to resist deception and to walk in the freedom You purchased for me. Amen.

Romans 8 confronts us with two ways of living: according to the flesh or according to the Spirit. Living by the flesh produces rotten fruit—stress, fear, striving, and a constant sense of debt. But living by the Spirit brings life and peace.
Paul says we are no longer under a spirit of slavery (v. 15). That old way feels familiar—always measuring worth, always striving to earn freedom, always driven by fear. But in Christ, we are redeemed and no longer debtors to the flesh.
From this passage we see that life in the Spirit means:
1. A new source — no longer poisoned roots of fear and striving, but the Spirit of adoption, drawing us into security and love.
2. A new identity — not slaves but beloved children, fully known and fully loved by the Father (Tim Keller).
3. A new hope — though we still “live in the orphanage” (v. 23) and face suffering, we have an eternal home prepared by Christ and an abundant life of rest and security now.
4. The Spirit testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children (v. 16). Adoption means we belong forever, secure in love. Even as we struggle with old habits of fear and death, the Father is reshaping us into people of hope, peace, and intimacy with Him.

Pray

(Pray for adoption identity) Father, thank You that in Christ I am no longer a slave to fear but Your child. Forgive me for drawing from poisoned sources of fear and striving. Spirit of adoption, root me deeply in Your love, teach me to live secure in who I am, and remind me of the eternal home You are preparing. May I walk each day with confidence, intimacy, and hope as Your beloved child.

Revelation 22.1 Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb 2 down the middle of the great street of the city. On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing (therapein) of the nations/peoples (ethnos). 3 No longer will there be any curse.The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city, and his servants will serve him.

Over these weeks we’ve been tracing the Bible’s image of trees—Jeremiah 17: a tree rooted in water, healthy even in high heat; Psalm 1: the introductory vision of the Psalms, a tree delighting in God’s word. And now, Revelation 22: the tree of life at the end of history.
Revelation calls us to read with the end in mind—to see where the story is headed, and to live today with that hope.
John’s vision gives us three big questions:
1. What is there?
  - A tree, planted on each side of the river of life, bearing twelve kinds of fruit, yielding every month.
  - Its leaves are “for the healing (therapia) of the nations”—healing for all peoples.
  - Even when we only glimpse healing here and now, Revelation promises that the tree exists. One day, every longing for restoration will be met in full.
2. What is not there?
  - “No longer will there be any curse.”
  - From Genesis 3 onward, humanity lived under curse: first, that life is always fractured; second, that even good things are fragile and can be lost.
  - But in the new creation, the curse is gone forever.
3. How is it not there?
  - Christ redeemed us from the curse by becoming a curse for us (Gal. 3:13). On the tree of the cross, He bore our curse and traded it for His Spirit.
  - This is the true prosperity gospel—not wealth or ease, but the priceless gift of the Holy Spirit, God’s presence with us. Like Frodo carrying a treasure he didn’t realize he had, we often miss the value of the Spirit already within us.
This vision matters because it speaks to a suffering world. Nations are fractured, people are broken, and creation groans. But God sees it all, and promises: healing is coming.

From this passage we see that hope comes as: 1) faith that the tree of healing truly exists, 2) freedom from the curse through Christ’s cross, and 3) the Spirit’s presence now as the foretaste of God’s final restoration.

Pray - For Awareness of the Holy Spirit: Holy Spirit, give us eyes to see the treasure we already have in You. Remind us that in Christ, the curse is broken, and healing is promised. Plant us by Your living waters, make us a community rooted in Your presence, and let us taste the happy of God even now as we wait for the tree of life at the end of history. Amen.

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Psalm 1 opens with the word “Blessed”—literally, happy. The Psalmist offers a vision of life as a tree—rooted, nourished, fruitful—set against the world’s competing vision of life as a race—relentless forward progress, competition, and comparison.
If life is a race, then falling behind feels inevitable—and resentment toward God and others grows. But if life is a tree, the goal is not forward motion but strength in the present—growing deeper roots, wider branches, and steadier fruit in every season.
The “happy of God” is available to us. It’s not easy, but it is simple. Psalm 1 shows how to receive it:
1. The company you keep matters – Crowds and chaotic voices can immobilize you. Choosing God-centered company means leaving behind the “chorus of chaos” and its shallow measures of worth.
2. The story you treasure matters – “The law” here means God’s instruction, His story. The happy of God grows in those who are immersed in His words—meditating on them until they shape our desires and direction.
3. The One who keeps your company matters most – Verse 6 promises: “The Lord watches over the way of the righteous.” God sees, knows, and safeguards His people. Jesus Himself endured ultimate loneliness at the cross so our loneliness would have limits, and our connection to God would be limitless.

From this passage we see that blessing comes as: 1) rejecting the race paradigm for the tree paradigm, 2) rooting ourselves in God’s instruction and story, and 3) resting in the God who knows, keeps, and cultivates His people.

Pray
Father, rescue me from the false paradigm of life as a race. Make me a tree—rooted in Your Word, surrounded by Your people, and kept in Your care. Thank You that Jesus endured the loneliest place so I could know the deepest connection. Let me find my happiness in You alone. Amen.

In a culture obsessed with moving forward, Jeremiah 17:5–8 invites us to a different kind of flourishing—not about speed, success, or performance, but about being rooted, nourished, and fruitful right where we are.
Many of us feel stuck, like we’re falling behind, even as everyone else seems to move forward. But Scripture says: you can be blessed—happy—even when life feels slow or dry.
The passage paints a vivid contrast between shrubs and trees:
Shrubs are scorched, isolated, rootless.
Trees are anchored, interconnected, and fruitful—even in drought.
This "tree life" isn’t earned by perfection—it grows through deep trust in God. Your happiness doesn’t depend on circumstances improving—it depends on your rootedness in the source of living water.

From this passage we see that blessing (true happiness) comes through: 1) surrendering the pressure to constantly “move forward,” 2) rooting our identity and hope in God alone, and 3) learning to trust Him deeply, especially in heat and drought.

Pray

(Pray a whole-life invitation)
Father, I confess that I often chase forward progress instead of rooted presence. But you say blessing comes when I trust you. Make me a tree—anchored in your Spirit, unshaken by the heat, fruitful even in drought. Teach me to draw my hope, identity, and joy from you alone. Amen.

We've been on a months-long journey exploring two questions: How has the world been pulled apart? And how is it brought back together? Scripture shows us that at the core of the unraveling is our alienation from God, which then ripples out into alienation from self, others, and even creation.

Into this brokenness, the God of the universe is actively restoring all things—and what’s more, he is inviting us to participate in that restoration. In a city overflowing with opportunity, what's often missing is a meaningful invitation, and Jesus offers one: “Let’s do something together.”

But then comes the tension: Why is this mission so impossible? Two words—All Nations. Jesus calls a small, unqualified group to world transformation, not just across countries, but across all ethnic groups. And he does this without giving them the credentials we’d expect.

If you were Jesus, building a world-shaping team, who would you pick? Jesus picks those who have nothing on paper:

They were uneducated, common, “idiotes” (Acts 4:13).
They had no formal training and a terrible track record—the ones who deserted him when he needed them most.
And yet he chooses them. They had been with Jesus, and that’s what mattered.
What about those of us who do have credentials? Jesus still uses us—but it might require more unlearning. Think of Paul, who had the pedigree, the passion, the track record. But God had to blind and prune him so he could learn that confidence for mission cannot come from natural advantage.

In Philippians 3, Paul reflects: “Whatever gain I had, I counted as loss... that I may gain Christ.” He teaches us that resumes don’t move the needle in the kingdom—knowing Jesus and being filled with His power does.

So whether you feel inadequate or overqualified, the call is the same: divest your confidence in yourself, and place it fully in Christ. The way of the Kingdom is not the way of the world.

What did the disciples have that mattered? A promise. Luke 24:48–49 – “You are witnesses... stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high.”

The metaphor of being “clothed” is deeply biblical. It shows up in Genesis 3 when God covers Adam and Eve in grace. It shows up in the Sermon on the Mount as a symbol of care and security. And now Jesus uses it to describe being covered in the Holy Spirit—our protection, identity, and confidence.

Acts 1:4, 8 echoes the same idea: wait for the promise from the Father, and you will receive power. The only thing that made the early church different was this: the power of the Holy Spirit fell upon them.

So deepen your yearning—not only for more training—but for a power outside of yourself. Because the only confidence we carry is this, the power of the living God, in the presence of the Holy Spirit, has clothed us.

Pray

(Pray a whole-life invitation) Father, I confess that I often rely on my qualifications or feel paralyzed by my limitations. Today, I surrender both. Clothe me with the power of your Spirit. Let my confidence be rooted not in what I bring, but in the fact that I have been with Jesus. Make me your witness—not by strength, but by your Spirit. Amen.

Luke 24 mirrors Matthew 28’s Great Commission—Jesus extends a meaningful invitation not just to do something, but to join Him in the greatest work: the restoration of all things. In a world full of options, what we truly crave is meaningful inclusion, and Jesus offers it.
This is a genius mission—to you, through you, and with you. First, we are recipients: God is healing the deep places in us marked by shame, pain, and unmet longing. This mission doesn’t begin with output but with inner transformation. Then it flows through us to others. And finally, it happens with us—through the power of the Spirit.
We focused on the second piece of this mission, from Luke 24:47, Jesus calls us to be Heralds and Healers. He says: “Repentance for the forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations.”Heralds proclaim something significant, and the truth is—we already are heralds. We naturally share things that move us. Maybe the issue isn’t heralding but discomfort in heralding this message. But here’s the good news: Jesus’ call to proclaim repentance and forgiveness is a call to announce that you can come home, no matter what you’ve done.
This echoes the return-from-exile theme in the Old Testament. Forgiveness wasn’t just a legal clean slate—it meant a way back home. Jesus expresses this powerfully through the parable of the Prodigal Son: one son experiences exile of the body (he ran), the other, exile of the heart (he stayed but didn’t know the Father). Yet the Father’s invitation stands for both: come home.
We herald when we share our stories—moments of surrender, moments on the brink when God came through. These are more than testimonies; they are healing announcements that God restores, forgives, and brings us back into His embrace.

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Will Smith observed that those who experience life at “cliff top” face the same abyss experienced by those on “rock bottom.” It is a honest and vulnerable admission that proves Jesus’ right that a common problem we face is that we do not know “the things that make for peace.”
Luke records Jesus making his assertion in the moments following his arrival in Jerusalem. And this assertion helps modern readers to see how the event of Jesus’ arrival in Jerusalem (as well as the following events of Holy Week) bring peace.
From this passage we see that peace comes as 1) an alien arrival, 2) a welcome into our constructed strongholds, and 3) an invitation into the center of our self-understandings (our identities!).

Pray

(Pray a whole-life invitation) Father, I invite your presence into every corner of my life. I invite you to center of my self-understanding—may your good and loving presence be the lens that allows me to see every part of my life.

For the summary for this sermon and others - click here!

In Genesis 3.17-19, we see a fourth layer of alienation w/ nature, “cursed is the ground because of you; in pain you shall eat of it all the days of your life” It is an unraveling that impacts that sits at the intersection of how we worship (Lord), how we work (labor), and how we live in God’s creation (land).
Our post-fall predicament is that we have lost the experience of abundance, security, and resource-fullness of Eden. Instead our work lives, even in the backdrop of materially wealthy global city, are marked by scarcity, severity, and insecurity.
What we are facing is (at-least) two-fold: 1) scarcity of soul/inner world, and 2) scarcity of resources. This dual-scarcity leads to work-creep, where work and longing for security moves to the center of our existence. And, this experience of scarcity leads to overwork (for ourselves) and overuse (exploitation of God’s creation).
In a world reeling from an alienation from nature, God prescribed for his people a Sabbath rest for us (every week) and for the land (every seven years). Yet, his people did not adhere to God’s invitation for Sabbath rest.
Therefore, what is the hope for us in a world marked by scarcity? Scripture says the hope is found in our adoption. We are adopted by a King and we are adopted into the Kingdom! Our adoption by a King infuses us with a new identity that transforms the scarcity of our inner world. Our adoption into the Kingdom places us within Jesus’ Church. And, when the Holy Spirit falls on the Church in Acts 2, the Church receives a capacity for generosity that stands as a counter-cultural example of supernatural abundance.

For the summary for this sermon and others - click here!

In Genesis 3 and 4, we see the third layer of alienation—a social alienation that pulls us apart from each other. This alienation and unraveling leads to the active conflict we observe in our world, as well as the apathy we can possess towards the material needs of those around us.
In response to the widening dysfunction and violence multiplying in the world, God chooses a nation to embody a different way. This different way can be seen in passages such as Deuteronomy 15.
In Isaiah 58, we see glimpse of God’s desire for a spirituality—a “life with God”—in a world marked by conflict and apathy. It is a spirituality that 1) has eyes for others, 2) is rooted in continuous intimacy with the Father, and 3) delights in grace!
We can often miss God’s desire in two directions: 1) a religious direction and 2) an irreligious direction. We err in the religious direction when we focus on the rituals of spirituality without allowing our love for God translate into active love and concern for others (Isaiah 58.1-5). We can also err in an irreligious direction, where we seek justice for others but discount the necessity of life with God. We desire to remedy alienation #3—social alienation—but do not address alienation #1—alienation from God.
Jesus embodies a potent spirituality that both 1) challenges a spirituality that ignores the material plight of others (Mt. 23.23) and also 2) prioritizes connection to the Father. A Jesus-Church, following after the way of Jesus, gets to experience and embody the same!

Pray

Father, gives me eyes to see the needs around me; grant me to experience the power of life with you; and fill me with a delight to remember that no matter how often I fall short, you provide incomparable grace.

For the summary for this sermon and others - click here!

In Scripture, shame has both an passive and and an active component. The passive component is what we are familiar with — the visceral reactions we’ve experienced that stem from feeling exposed and insufficient. Genesis 3 explains that it is our human way of experiencing the world now that we have experienced the disconnection from God once available to humanity at Eden.
A Scriptural understanding of shame also requires understanding shame’s active component. In Psalm 25.1-3, the psalmist declares that those who put their trust in God are not put to shame. And, this is a recurring idea in Scripture—biblical authors speak of shame as resulting from our misplaced trust.
The redemptive power of shame, as argued by Allender and Longman, centers on shame’s ability to expose our misplaced trusts—the deep idols of our heart. We feel shame, because the things we depend on for identity and sense of security—such as the respect and admiration of others, the financial stability our jobs provides, the affection of loved ones—cannot provide what we long for.
Shame exposes our misplaced trusts, which can lead us to repentance and worship!

The Cry of the Soul: How Our Emotions Reveal Our Deepest Questions about God

The psalmist, in the face of threat, finds peace by declaring:

"my God is good"
"my God gives good"
"my God will be good"

What in our story keeps us from believing the same?

A few years ago Cindy, Founder of We Want More, shared with Jeremiah that deep-life transformation occurs in environments that are 1) safe, 2) vulnerable, 3) expectant and 4) Spirit-empowered. On Sunday, we double-clicked on "expectancy," asking Cindy to share from her journey with God on the importance of "expectancy" and how God's goodness and character forms the basis of our hope.

Modern people don’t believe resurrection of the dead is plausible, was it just more plausible for people of the 1st century? Did people during the time of Jesus (1st Century) think this sort of thing could happen? The short answer is not at all. And the only plausible explanation for the first Christians’ belief in the Resurrection of Jesus is that it actually happened!

John and the other first Christians were blown away because they believed that something happened “in the middle of history” that changed everything about reality as they experienced it.

This past Sunday, we entered Holy Week by reading the story of Jesus entering Jerusalem, Matthew 21, alongside 2 Samuel 18, the story of King David entering Jerusalem after his son, Absalom, led a rebellion to push King David out of the city. Both narratives have key similarities - a donkey, a true King with an entourage, and a hostile Jerusalem! We saw the similarities are no accident, for 2 Samuel 18 provides us a window into the Father's heart for His rebellious people.

In the passage, David, standing outside of Jerusalem, learns of his rebellious son's death, and grieves saying, "my son, my son, would I have died instead of you?" David's heart was for the deliverance of his dead son at the cost of his own life. And in the same way, what David could only wish to give his Absalom, Jesus actually gives to those who trust in him. "My life for yours," Jesus embodies on the Cross! This is what we celebrate this Holy Week!

This past Sunday, we started a sermon series on the Lord's Prayer but looking at the larger context of the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus' most famous sermon. We dug into the phrase translated in the ESV as, "You therefore, must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect."

We (hopefully) saw together that instead of experiencing this sentence as the command of a terrifying drill sergeant, it is meant as both an invitation into a counterculture and an invitation into a promise.

Tucked away at the very end of 1 Corinthians, the book's author grabs the pen of his amanuensis and writes the Aramaic phrase, "MARANA-THA," translated as "Our Lord, come." Pastor Eugene Peterson in his Bible paraphrase translates the phrase, "Make room for the master!" This past Sunday, we focused on this ancient creedal statement and (hopefully) saw the prayer it gives us during the season of Advent.

Last Sunday, we started a short sermon series through the book of Hebrews entitled Unshakeable. Over these three weeks, we will see that in order to experience an unshakeable forever hope, the author invites us to 1) live from a "Mountain of Feasting," 2) trust a Perfect Priest-King, 3) strive for "Permanent Rest."

We saw last week from Chapter 12 that we can live from either a Mountain of Fear and Danger or a Mountain of Feasting and Dancing! And, because of Jesus, we have come to this second mountain where God welcomes us into his town, his party, and into his crew.

Last Sunday, we started a new sermon series entitled Removing Alone-ness. We began in Genesis 1 and saw that the first step to Removing Alone-ness is to allow creation to lead to adoration.

All of creation declares the glory of God, yet we often zoom in on the creation and dismiss the Creator. Scripture urges us to see that all creation is an invitation to relationship with Jesus—for “all things were created through him and for him.”

The disconnection between our physical body and our Christian journey brings pain to ourselves and the world. Jesus reminds us of our three parts being: mind, body, and soul. Which is good news for a world disconnected from the physical.

Embodiment, conscious awareness of being a body, contrast with the Church's neglect, seen in refugee apathy, abuse cover-ups, and racial injustice. By embodying Christ's teachings, we fulfill the mandate of being His hands and feet, trading intellectual pursuit for bodily worship.

Embracing God-given limits and practicing spiritual disciplines reconnect us, enabling us to effectively be the hands and feet of Christ. This journey involves moving beyond theological theory to active, compassionate living. We are invited to see ourselves as Thomas being invited by the savior to physically touch and see the wounds of Christ that recreate our past, present, and future into one of great hope.

Take a moment to journal around these 2 questions.

Read John 20: 24-29, what is your “unless” question for Jesus? “Unless I see this reality in the physical world”? Ask Jesus to show you!
What wounds has Jesus healed in you? How can you share that reality with someone this week who needs to see Jesus in that exact place?
In what ways do you still carry the marks of that wound? Reflect on the bodily hope of resurrection.

How do we find strength to rebuild when things fall apart? We find strength to rebuild by singing and being sung over.

This past Sunday we saw that the reality of building or re-building can be incredibly discouraging. In Ezra 3 and 4, God’s people faced constraints in resources, constraints in power, and people actively trying to frustrate their efforts.

So, we asked the question, how do we face the realities and challenges of piecing up pieces? We saw in the text that the sound of rebuilding is marked by both weeping and joy. And this teaches us that as Christians, we pick up the pieces by living “sorrowful, yet always rejoicing.”

If we are exclusively rejoicing, then this most likely means we are living DELUSIONAL, unable to move with wisdom in a fallen world. Yet, if we are exclusively sorrowful, we will live DEFEATED, passive and anxious.

Yet, if we live “sorrowful, yet always rejoicing,” then we will live DETERMINED, anchored and unyielding in the face of uncertainty and difficulty.

We can live this way by singing and being sung over. In v.10, God’s people sing a song about God’s love for them. We have confidence to sing this song today, because we see in Scripture that God sings his love over us (Zephaniah 3.17, Matthew 27.46).

And because God sings over us, we can step forward resolute, sorrowful yet always rejoicing, because he can work out a deliverance no matter our situation.

What are you sacrificing?

In the last few years many of us have lost something significant—whether a relationship, community, church, job, or place we called home. And, in light of our losses, we currently find ourselves in a process of rebuilding. Yet, how do we rebuild well?

In this series through Ezra + Nehemiah, we will see that rebuilding has four main components: 1) altar, 2) temple, 3) walls, and 4) Word. And, the four together allow for an all-encompassing communal recovery of identity!

This past Sunday, we began with the altar.

We saw that altars have power to bring life or destroy. The altar was the place of Israel's great failure--for on their altars, they performed child-sacrifices to foreign gods! And, we may think, well I'm not doing that...but the point is if you want to know what you are worshipping, then look at what you are sacrificing. Their sacrifices showed that they had lost connection to the LORD.

In our passage, we saw that when returning to a city that needed rebuilding, they began with the altar. And, they did what they could to recover what the LORD had instructed them. Rebuilding was a communal project of reorienting their worship back to the LORD!Yet, we ultimately saw that Scripture tells us that the Christian hope is that a historically flat altar was turned upright at the Cross! And, this Altar provides a permanent hope because on it was laid a perfect sacrifice!

Pastor Ariana preached from Philippians 4:4-9 and put forward that our biggest problem as a church and culture isn’t our anxiety but actually our forgetfulness.

We tend to forget these three things:

Jesus is near
His kingdom is coming
His peace is real for us today

The Good News is that God hasn’t forgotten us. When we pray and even before we pray God is attentive to the needs of His people. Try the Prayer Model that was introduced and reply here to let us know how God is responding to our community.

Prayer Model

Remember: What has God done? Let that reflection lead you to rejoice.
Ask: What do you need from the Lord today?
Thank: How can you thank God today?
Receive: Pause to sit still with your palms up and allow God to place peace in your hands or to meet you.
Practice: What is true, honorable, just, pure, lovely, commendable, excellent, and worthy of praise around you? Take a moment to think of something for each word.

We should long to form an exceedingly magnificent fellowship–marked by rest.

In 2 Chronicles 22.2-5, King David desired to build an exceedingly magnificent house for God, because David knew that this is what God deserved. This house required a selective profile of builder (a person of rest), extravagant provision, and abundant participation.

The early Christian writers of the New Testament explain that this house has now become a people--the church! Therefore, the church is not meant to be either a building or a business enterprise, but an exceedingly magnificent fellowship.

And, this fellowship matters for the world because as Solomon was a person of rest, Jesus invites those who follow him saying, "come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest." This fellowship is meant to be a people of rest (v. at rest)–a people who live, dream, and hope from a position of ultimate security.

Why do we often have a difficult time sharing the most important thing to us (the Gospel) with people who are important to us? Or people who we know are important to God?

Oftentimes believers can have a "famine" mindset when it comes to how we view the world and their receptivity to the Gospel. We fear bringing the Gospel to our neighbors and friends because we think we see opposition and resistance to the Gospel.

In John 4, Jesus challenges the disciples and us to move from a famine mindset to a harvest mindset. In John 4:35-38, Jesus reveals that we are to lift up our eyes and see that the fields are white for harvest. There is great opportunity in our communities, in NY, and in the world to bring the Gospel to the nations. Through the Holy Spirit, God has been preparing the hearts of people so they are ripe for harvest.

The question is, what is the strategy? And what resources are necessary to enact such a plan? In John 4:27-30, 39-42, we see a town won over for Jesus. And it's not through an expensive media campaign or an amazing strategy. It's done through this one woman. A Samaritan woman. Who by all accounts was ostracized by her community because of her morality, ethnic makeup, and gender. And God chooses to use her to be his first cross-cultural missionary.

How did she bring a town to Jesus? Two parts: Shared her testimony and gave an invitation. John 4:29 “Come, see a man who told me all that I ever did. Can this be the Christ?” Evangelism is just one beggar telling another beggar where to find bread. D. T. Niles (pastor, evangelist). Two questions to consider for yourself: What is your testimony? And what opportunities is God opening up for you to share your testimony?

Meg Baatz teaches us from John 20.18-23 and shows us 1) Jesus was sent into suffering and stood in solidarity, 2) Jesus was sent with power and wilded it with mutuality, and 3) Jesus was sent in a hope that imagines the kingdom.

On this Easter Sunday, we asked the simple question, what is your hope in life and death? We spoke of the need for a hope that not even death can extinguish. From 1 Corinthians 15, we saw that the Resurrection of Jesus carries with it three hopes: 1) a historical hope, 2) a cosmic hope, and 3) a personal hope.

First, we saw that the central question of Christianity is "did Jesus rise from the dead?" Today, we can often be tempted to categorize Jesus as one option among many in the marketplace of spirituality. However, the first Christians who saw and touched Jesus remind us that the resurrection happened in history. As Dr. Tim Keller said, "If Jesus rose from the dead, then you have to accept all he said; if he didn’t rise from the dead, then why worry about any of what he said? The issue on which everything hangs is not whether or not you like his teaching but whether or not he rose from the dead."

Second, we saw that the resurrection provides not only a historical hope, but also a cosmic one. The Apostle Paul argues that Jesus is the "firstfruits" of resurrection, an agricultural picture meaning the first of the harvest. Because Jesus came back from the dead, we can believe that this world matters. God cares deeply about the material conditions of this world. Theologian, NT Wright argues, "Easter means that in a world where injustice, violence and degradation are endemic, God is not prepared to tolerate such things—and that we will work and plan, with all the energy of God, to implement victory of Jesus over them all."Third, we saw that resurrection is also a personal hope. In 1 Corinthians 15 and Romans 6, we see that in baptism the full benefits of Jesus' death and resurrection are applied to you and me. He is not a detached deity, but a loving Savior, who loves personally and particularly.

This past Sunday, we continued our series The Meat Is In The Street: Following Jesus Into His Mission by talking about how we can grow our sense of expectancy!

We looked at the story of David and Goliath in 1 Sam. 17 and saw how David modeled expectancy. In the scene, a mighty warrior named Goliath challenged God's people to a "battle of champions," where each side would choose one representative in a winner-take-all battle. And, God's people, seeing the size, stature, and strength of Goliath refuse to step forward.

One imagines that these soldiers paralyzed with fear, were wondering about the many risks of stepping forward to meet Goliath's taunts. They were about what stepping forward could mean for them, their families, and their people.

David, however, had a different outlook. He seems to say, "If God of Israel is the real God, then what are all doing sitting on our hands?"

His posture leads him to recast the entire experience from a battle of a warrior to warrior to shepherd and animal--an experience from His past where God proved strong and capable.

We finished by seeing that ultimately, our expectancy is made possible because Jesus is the true champion. Our part to play in the story is not of David, but an excited soldier who realized that because of what David had done--they could participate in the spoils of victory!

This past Sunday, we continued our series The Meat Is In The Street: Following Jesus Into His Mission by simply acknowledging that in this part of the country it is easy to be cynical about mission!

"I have to do, so others can behave"And, we are cynical because if we are honest, our underlying suspicion is that mission can be boiled down to, "I have to do, so I can get others to change how they behave."

We are tempted deep down to believe that what religious communities really want for us is nothing more than 1) to do and 2) to behave. And, if we are honest, this hardly feels like "Good News" to our friends in the office, our neighbors, or our skeptical family members.

"Reframing Mission"We spent the bulk of the sermon trying to reframe the mission by asking, what is the Good News? And, I simply wanted to put forward that in a world marked by alone-ness, the Good News is that the Kingdom has come near!

We looked at four quick stories from the Gospel of John of 1) Nathanael, 2) the Woman at the Well, 3) the Woman caught in adultery, and 4) Lazarus to see how each has a sort of similar testimony that reads:

Alone and ________________,
He Saw Me and came near.
I was changed.
I want others to exp the same.Their stories were different, yet also the same!

Jesus draws near--and because of this, we have not been left alone. And this is Good News for us and for those whom we love! This is the mission! To let those around us know that the God of all the Universe has drawn near to meet them in their aloofness, in their shame, in their fear, in all the places where life seems absent of hope.

This past Sunday, we moved from the "Why?" of our Vision Series into the practical "How?" How do we see rivers of renewal in us, the city, and ultimately our world?

We saw that in Luke 10, Jesus chooses 72 anonymous disciples to be "Sent Ones" in pairs of 2, we talked about how this was probably representative of the 72 known countries in the world at that time. Jesus came for ALL and then invited us to be SENT to ALL.

We can often feel we aren't the best candidates to invite people to follow Jesus, but these are the rookies of evangelism, not the all-stars Peter, Paul, and Barnabas and they are just the ones Jesus chooses to SEND. We can see ourselves as one of the 72 as well.

Ariana shared about her friend's faith journey for us to see how this practically plays out in a place like NYC.

From Luke 10, we learned 4 practical pieces in the journey to faith in Jesus and 2 missional tools for inviting our friends to engage with the Good News of Jesus.

Earnest & Powerful Prayer
Friends: Secular to Sacred Friendships
Missional Tool #1 - Food - sharing a meal with the friend you want to open up a faith conversation with.
Experience: Healing & Hearing Moments
Missional Tool #2 - The Bible - Many people who have never been to church or thought about Jesus are interested in the words in the Bible. They most likely haven't had someone invite them to read it before in an open, honest and safe way.
Conversion: Rejoice With Me

We saw in Luke 10 that God wants us to rejoice in knowing Him versus the power and authority that He gives us to send the darkness away and usher in healing.

This past Sunday, we finished our Rivers of Renewal series, by talking about Cultural Beauty.

We began by reviewing a key idea that unlike a modern culture that merely loves as a response to what it finds lovely...God's presence makes lovely!This contrast is important because a dysfunctional culture--that merely responds to what it finds lovely--creates a world of pretenders and strivers, who spend endless energy looking to manufacture loveliness.

In Isaiah 61.3, we see that instead of seeking to manufacture loveliness through things like work, we are invited to trade for beauty. We do this by excavating the ashes of our souls--the places of loss, plain, and alone-ness--and offering them to the Lord for a promised "crown of beauty" that allows us to be mirrors for his splendor.We believe this to be possible because when Jesus arrives, one of his first public acts is to quote this passage from Isaiah (Luke 4) and to say he is the fulfillment of this promise. Because of the Cross, we can know that there is no pain we experience where we have been left alone. And because of the Resurrection, we can know that there is no pain that will ultimately not be redeemed.

This past Sunday, we continued our Rivers of Renewal sermon series by focusing on God’s heart for Social Justice.

We saw that we can make two key mistakes in regard to justice:

We could deny that it is important.
We could think it is important, but still not allow this conviction to change how we live—for example, how we spend our time or money.

From Amos 5, we saw three things: 1) what God wants, 2) why we struggle to do it, 3) how we do it.

We saw in Amos 5 that God wants oceans of justice and rivers of fairness.We struggle, however, to press into what God wants because it can be easy for us to experience the world as incredibly insecure. Yet, could it be that this is by design? We were made to acknowledge our deep needs so that we can learn a healthy dependence on God.

Last, the end of the book of Amos, in chapter 9, points to a promise that someday there would be one who would bring about a restoration that would include superabundant wine. We turned to John 2, to see that Jesus is the wine-bringer. We are able to do justice, once we realize that there is one we can rely on to meet all our needs and so much more.

And because our greatest needs are met, we can be for others.

David continued our vision series by sharing our desire to cultivate Wholehearted Community. He recounted the story of Jesus healing the paralytic on a mat in Mark 2, reflecting on journeying through the Wall seasons of life. Just like everyone has a mat - areas of brokenness and imperfection - we will all journey through the Wall - or a crisis in life that coincides with a season of wrestling with faith. A wholehearted community is uniquely designed to recognize that we all need to take turns on the mat - carrying and being carried to Jesus for healing and freedom. And a wholehearted community is aware and gracious towards those who are journeying through the Wall - we slow down to do that with empathy, care, and understanding.

We recognize that New York City puts more people against the Wall - spiritually, relationally, personally, professionally - than almost any other place. We were built to be a wholehearted community where it’s needed the most.

David finished the sermon by mentioning specific examples from our journey together of where we have experienced wholehearted community as a new church community! We were awestruck to hear the many good and miraculous things the LORD has allowed us to experience in a short amount of time. We pray with Spirit-filled expectancy for more!

This past Sunday, Jean continued our Rivers of Renewal series by speaking from Genesis 37.2-5 on the second implication of renewal: deep-life change.

Jean began by exhorting us as a community to heed God's invitation to face the reality of our souls because in so doing we not only live the life we were meant to live but also, become conduits of God's living water to a hurting world.

Jean showed us from the life of Joseph, who finds himself involuntarily in a pit, that we also can find ourselves in metaphorical pits from generational sins and wounds dealt by those around us. When we are in the pit, we have a choice: 1) will we give ourselves over to pity or 2) will we find the purpose in the hard?

We find freedom from the pit not through our own effort and activity but by experiencing Jesus' intimate presence protecting and rescuing us. In addition, we believe from 2 Peter 2.9-10, that Jesus not only brings us up out of the pit but also brings us into the Palace of God's presence.

May we live deeply into God's loving presence today and this weekend!

This past Sunday we continued our Rivers of Renewal series by discussing one implication of renewal: personal conversion.

We started by mentioning that conversion to Christianity appears to be increasingly taboo. In 2019, the Barna Group found that 47% of millennial Christians somewhat agree that it is wrong to share one's faith with someone of a different faith with hopes that they will one day share the same faith.

However, it seems as though conversion is a natural way of being in the world. Jesuit thinker Bernard Lonergan argues that we absorb and engage the world around us through four moves: 1) Attention, 2) Intelligence, 3) Judgement, and 4) Responsibility. First, we take in the world around us. Second, we discern which ideas are better than others. Third, we make a reasonable call. Fourth, we live our lives accordingly.

In our present moment, it can be difficult to make a reasonable call. We are tempted to discern endlessly. Yet Chesterton writes, "Merely having an open mind is nothing. The object of opening the mind, as of opening the mouth, is to shut it again on something solid.”

We then moved into John 4, seeing how Jesus invites the Samaritan Woman at the Well through these four moves...attention (v.1-10), intelligence (v11-25), Judgment (v.26), and Responsibility (v.39-42). From this narrative we see this woman as first experiencing Jesus as stranger, before realizing he is Savior, and then responding rightly in surrender.

Where are you with Jesus at present? Is there a step with him he is inviting you to take?

This past Sunday we continued our vision series, Rivers of Renewal, in John 7.37-39.

We believe our vision for City Chapel is too big for human hands. City Chapel exists to see and spread the full measure of the Spirit-empowered renewal promised by Jesus that brings personal conversion & deep-life transformation, wholehearted community, social justice, and cultural beauty to New York City and Northern Jersey, and through here, the world.

The good news is Jesus is glorified and you have access to the Holy Spirit.
God longs for freedom for you.
It isn’t a one-time isolating experience to be filled with the spirit. We come to Jesus daily to be filled by the spirit.

This past Sunday we continued our vision series, Rivers of Renewal, in Ezekiel 47 by speaking about the River's Promise. We saw that the river contains 1) a promise of radical reversal, 2) a life-producing power, 3) and an "active" invitation.

First, the river contains a promise of radical reversal. The river in Ezekiel 47 calls back to the Garden of Eden, declaring a vision of the world as it should be. In addition, at the very end of Scripture in Revelation 22, we see another river, which shows us that this river in Ezekiel 47 alludes to not only the world as it should be, but also as the world as it will be.

This passage promises that there will come a radical transformation that will mean a reversal of the brokenness of our present world. And, this promise, is a uniquely Biblical hope, because we believe in qualitative breaks in time--Creation, Fall, Redemption--which allow us to say that the evil and suffering of the present world is not normal; it is the aberration.

Second, we see that the River contains a life-producing power with two key implications. First, God's presence and love makes lovely. This runs counter to a modern world where love is given to only what one finds already lovely. And this creates a world of pretenders. Yet, the river runs through unfaithful and unworthy people, creating life and beauty even amid their weaknesses and inadequacies. Second, the river of God's presence is able to bring life to the most desolate and barren of environments and conditions. Therefore, you are not ultimately your environment. His grace breaks through all limiting factors.

Third, we flipped to John 21 to see Peter recognize that this Ezekiel 47 vision has now arrived in Jesus. And, the only proper response is to go all-in and "swim" to and surrender to Him.

This past Sunday we started a sermon series entitled Rivers of Renewal based on Ezekiel 47. In this chapter, we see a picture of a trickle of water that widens into a full-blown river, healing and restoring everything it touches.

We opened the series by focusing on "the River's source," which is the Temple. We did that to see how through the Temple God invited ordinary people into a dynamic relationship. And, we started there, because our hope in this series is that it would increase our collective vision of who God uniquely is.

In Ezekiel, we see God's people squander the unique privilege of having God's presence in their midst (Ezekiel 8-11), yet the hope of our passage is that God returns and rests his presence on an unworthy people (Ezekiel 40-48). And, this here is the good news. This is what God does. He loves persistently.

Last, in John 2, we see Jesus proclaiming that He is the True Temple. He is the true place where Heaven and Earth meet. Therefore, if we want to know what God is like, we can look at his face! :)

I hope you sense his smile over you this week!

The new year will no doubt bring incredible highs and lows. This past week, we talked of three anchoring promises from Acts 5.17-42 that I hope you remember this year:

God unlocks tightly guarded doors.
God repurposes our gravest failures.
God invites us into His inevitable movement.

In the first, we saw the first Christians thrown into jail and an Angel of the Lord set them free. From this, we know two simple truths, God cares and God acts. If you do not believe God cares about you and God acts on your behalf, you will experience life as one locked door after another that you will have to jam open with your finite ability, talent, and competency. And this will make your soul prideful, spiteful, and tired.

In the second, we saw the first Christians explaining to those opposing them that though these opposers delivered Jesus to the Romans to be killed, God has repurposed this grave failure of theirs, and now it has become the very basis of God's grace and forgiveness.

In the last, we saw a respected leader of those opposing warn his own group that if this Christian movement was of God it could not fail. And, that is our ultimate hope. We believe that there is no stopping this Resurrection movement marked by worship, hope, and healing.

Here' is the link to the video shown at the beginning of the sermon.

This past Sunday, we talked about love from John 3.16. We saw that love's 1)objects, 2) ends, and 3) nature.

John 3.16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.

In the first, we saw from Scripture that love is not, as we often view, a merely internal subjective experience, but it is something that God has within God's self. It is something he is, which is ultimately good news, because it is something outside of us that we are invited into (v. a thing we have to manufacture or fight to maintain).

In the second, we saw that God longs for those he loves to experience eternal life. We talked about how we conceive of "eternal" as "life unending," which for us makes Christianity an entirely future hope. But, if time is merely a measure of change, we have to remember that God does not change. He is a-temporal in an incomprehensible way.

Here's the big idea. Our creaturely problem is simply that time changes, and as we experience time changing, it is an incredibly lonely experience as everyone is set-off moving in a direction different from the people closest to them.

Our great hope is that an incomprehensibly atemporal God steps into time and invites us into an incomprehensibly full atemporal love that does not change.

This past Sunday, we saw the Joy equals possessing what you are desiring. So, looking at Jesus' mention of joy, we asked two questions: 1) what should we desire? and 2) how do we possess it?

Quite simply, Jesus tells us to pursue:

a FULL joy in a world of partial joy.
a PERMANENT joy in a world of temporary joy.
a PREGNANT joy that goes backwards into time to transform even our deepest agonies into glory.

And, how does one possess this joy?

This joy is caught by "infection" when in contact with His Presence.

And on Christmas, we celebrate that His Presence has made contact with us.

This past Sunday, we considered our second Advent theme of Peace. We saw that there is no good translation of peace as it is described in Scripture. It is neither inner serenity, nor lack of conflict. Peace, as described in Scripture, is something so much greater.
And, we ventured to put forward that if it can be described as anything, it would best be described by what it solves—the presence of all trauma that multiplies chaos and dysfunction in our world. Therefore, to properly understand biblical peace, we must see that it is equivalent to “The Opposite of Trauma.”

In the First Advent we saw that Jesus is the Source of this “peace.” And, this “peace” spreads as those who worship Jesus gather together and draw from the Source. Sundays are healing spaces. Join us this Sunday for more!

Where I'm From Poem by Ralph Manlapig

Where I'm From Poem by Alex Waters

Jeremiah Lepasana

In Ephesians we see that a church is full of people that do not naturally belong together.

We arrive and participate in this community bringing with us different worldviews—narratives about how the world works—and personal experiences that make it easy for us to feel overlooked and neglected.

Therefore, a church must allow God's boundless love, spoken about in Ephesians 3, to transform our most visceral reflexes—of arrogance, harsh-ness, and impatience—towards others and lean into supernatural resources marked by humility, gentleness, and patience. When this happens, we live out of a countercultural reality of a people with a bias toward reconciliation.

Recap: Jubilee Sunday - Stories of God's Freedom and Healing

This past Sunday we heard about God's healing in three parts.

Part I: Jeremiah gave a short frame for what we pray our church will be--a place, like the early church, where those of us and our neighbors who feel frustrated, diminished, and trapped experience Jesus' jubilee freedom.
Jubilee Song, 13.30: Ariana and Sam led us in singing Jubilee.
Part II, 15.26: Ralph shared his story of what God has done and has been showing him these past few months.
Part III, 24.30: Sam shares how God has been reading her journal and giving her new hope.

Jean Park

Ariana Waters

Jeremiah Lepasana

Jeremiah Lepasana

Jeremiah Lepasana

Ariana Waters

Jeremiah Lepasana

Jeremiah Lepasana

Jeremiah Lepasana

Ariana Waters - Pastor of Equipping

Jeremiah Lepasana

Jeremiah Lepasana

Series: People of a Story | Jeremiah Lepasana

Series: People of a Story | Ariana Waters

Series: People of a Story | Jeremiah Lepasana

Series: People of a Story | Jeremiah Lepasana

Series: People of a Story | Jeremiah Lepasana

Christmas Standalone - Luke 1.39-45 | Homily: Jeremiah Lepasana | Song: Ariana and Alex Waters

Series: Advent | Jeremiah Lepasana

Series: Tables of Jesus
By: Jeremiah Lepasana

Series: Tables of Jesus
By: Jeremiah Lepasana

Series: Tables of Jesus
By: Jeremiah Lepasana