CityChurch Charlotte: Recent Episodes
CityChurch
We can sometimes be so spiritually minded that we forget that we actually do live in a body. This body is a temporary home (2 Corinthians 5:1) but is still very important. Paul writes to the church in Corinth that believers are called to glorify God with their bodies.
The Lord gave us a body to nurture and preserve without worshipping it. When our bodies are healthy, we experience freedom but when we are unhealthy – it affects every part of life.
This will be a great opportunity to reflect on how we are stewarding our physical bodies as well as growing in loving the Lord with all our strength. We can use our physical well-being as a catalyst for the glory of God.
Join us as we enter the second week of our Fueled journey together.
I think all of us run on empty from time to time. We get tired, we feel sad, we get overwhelmed and we struggle to experience God. This is part of life, but it does not have to be our whole life. We can be intentional about our continual renewal and liveNlives filled with God’s grace.
This “Fueled Series” is a powerful opportunity to grow in loving the Lord with all our hearts, all our soul, all our strength and all our mind. God created us in a special way and every intricate part of us matters and has to be filled with the life of God. We are all called to glorify God with our whole life. It truly is powerful when we grow in this reality.
This Sunday is the start of the journey and we are so excited to preach about this, give you a daily devotional and also a midweek small group course where you can prioritize the renewal of your whole self for the glory of God. This is a special time to invite your friends and family.
We had a stunning Sunday rediscovering our “why”. This is not an isolated reality. We have to realize that the “why” is always connected to the ‘WHO’. Firstly, it starts with who God is - everything flows from Him.
When we study the scriptures, we clearly see that God divinely calls people to join Him on His mission here on earth. It’s so significant that God still chooses the 'WHO' in connection with the ‘WHY’ . He chooses ordinary people like you and me to be part of His extraordinary plan. We sometimes struggle to embrace God’s “why”, because we struggle to believe who we are called to be. When we have a distorted view of ourselves, it often results in us rejecting the plans and purposes of God for our lives.
Join us as we look at our calling personally and corporately. We will see that each of us have a role to play. It is also very exciting to see how God has called CityChurch to make a lasting impact for His glory.
God’s call for your life is to Know Jesus, Find Freedom, Discover Purpose and Make a Difference. We will experience how the Lord gives us faith by the power of His Spirit to say “Yes” to His invitation.
Our lives are much bigger than the here and now. There is truly so much more to our existence. We have a tendency to get lost in the details: the ‘What’, the ‘When’ and the ‘How’ - but these flow from understanding the ‘WHY.’
If we lose track of why we work, why we are married, why we are studying, or why we have a church, we miss the point. Join us as we take two weeks to rediscover our "why." It will be such a powerful time as we turn our eyes on Jesus to see again, to believe again and to become even more passionate about God’s heart for us and those He wants to touch through us.
God’s vision for every person is that we know Him, find freedom in Him, discover our God-given purpose and make a lasting difference. Vision Sunday is always a very special opportunity to hear from God and be encouraged in our eternal purpose together.
When we allow ourselves to be honest with God and with ourselves, we step into a space of freedom. It seems counterintuitive to let go of control, which is hard.
But can we open our hands and trust Him? Can we lift up our heads and look to Him? Will we let go of striving in the midst of the mystery and will we wait on Him? No one wastes time waiting on the Lord, it’s a beautiful journey of finding His Grace in our weakness.
Join us as we learn how to encounter Jesus in the midst of pain. We will see what it really means to walk by faith and not by sight. It’s going to be life changing for all of us.
This is one of those extra special opportunities to celebrate together as a church. Bruce and Myra McAlpine are with us and it’s always encouraging to have them.
We see in the New Testament that churches had deep friendships with leaders that would strengthen them, encourage them and give them biblical perspective. A great example was the Apostle Paul, who would visit churches and also wrote letters to them to impart spiritual blessing to them (Romans 1:11).
Bruce and Myra are here to share God’s love and God’s word with us – they are dear friends and are a blessing to us all.
We all have a story to tell, these stories often define us and set the tone for our future. The dream will always consist of both battles and blessings, the question is what will we focus on the most? We might be living the dream, but we are still carrying the pain of past experiences.
While these realities are true, they don’t have to consume the story of our lives. We know that God took Joseph from pain to promise and from brokenness to beauty. There’s something beautiful that happens when our lives are marked with God’s faithfulness and His goodness and that’s what we emphasize without denying the hard times.
This is our last part of the series and it has been so enriching to journey through the last 14 chapters of Genesis.
Living the Dream comes with special privileges. Joseph’s life was a shadow pointing to Jesus Christ. Just like Joseph honored and appreciated his father, we know that Jesus honored and appreciated our heavenly Father.
Joseph eagerly desired the blessing of his father and so Jesus also walked in the blessing of our Father. The beauty of this reality is that all of us can have that close relationship with our heavenly Father. We can honor Him, prioritize Him and desire His blessing. Our heavenly Father loves us deeply and His words are life to our soul. Unlike Joseph’s father, our Father is not weak and He will never leave us or forsake us.
Jim Carey famously said that he thinks everyone should become rich and famous so that they can see that it’s not the answer. Many people want the dream, but they don’t want the responsibility that comes with the dream.
We dream about having kids, getting promoted, leading in the church or serving with a non-profit etc. All of this calls for the empowering Grace of God – it’s one thing to see the dream fulfilled, it’s another thing to acknowledge that God made it possible.
While living the dream, we need to extend mercy instead of revenge, acceptance instead of rejection, humility instead of pride and vulnerability instead of pretense. Join us as we open our hearts to God as He shows us how to handle success.
A miracle happens! Pharaoh calls for Joseph and Joseph gets an opportunity to promote himself. He could talk about his faithfulness to Potiphar and prison; he could talk about his track record of accurately interpreting dreams etc. He does none of that, he honors God and takes the humble posture of serving another person’s dream. Most people who live the dream are not selfishly using people to fulfill their own dreams.
NO! They are selflessly serving other people’s dreams. When the moment of truth arrives, how will we respond and what will we prioritize? Could it be that God’s dreams in our lives are way bigger than ours? Could it be that God paints on a canvas that’s beyond our wildest imagination?
Let’s invite you to join us as we explore the bigness of God’s dream and how we can respond to great opportunities.
There are times when we find ourselves in limiting situations – we run out of options and we could even feel trapped. All of us go through these seasons of life where it just doesn’t make sense.
Our career might be at a dead end or we feel isolated or we feel like God forgot about us. It’s hard to hold on to the dream when we are treated unfairly or circumstances are just so hard and hopeless. How do we cope? How do we keep the faith? How do we respond to extreme disappointment?
I believe we have an opportunity to flip the script and that’s what we’ll focus on this Sunday. Invite someone to sit with you as we look at Joseph’s time in prison, it’s a profound time in Joseph’s life and pivotal for living the dream.
Jody and Vanessa Romero, who lead Restoration LA, are sharing God’s word with us. They are not guest speakers, but friends and gospel partners who come to serve us and encourage us in our faith. Jody and Vanessa both serve on the NCMI team and they have a beautiful testimony – from adopting children to serving their community in east LA and preaching the gospel in many parts of the world.
What a way to Celebrate Pentecost!
What do you do when your dreams seem to be dying? How do you respond when you are rejected and treated unfairly? It’s so hard to make sense of some seasons of our lives, especially when we are doing our best.
It’s clear that the Lord is interested in both the dreamer and the dream – He has to prepare the dreamer for the dream and this is a challenging process. When God gives us dreams, He kindly develops us so that we can take hold of these dreams. He will even use circumstances and the pain caused by people to work for us in the long run – it truly is amazing!
Join us as we celebrate the favor of God even in seasons of limitations. We will be encouraged by the fact that God keeps the dream alive, even when we lose hope. It’ll be such a wonderful Sunday to invite someone to sit with you.
We have heard a lot about the “American Dream” or building the “House of our dreams” or even finding the “Person of our dreams” etc. What about God’s dream for our lives? There’s something beautiful that happens when God gives you a dream. It re-affirms the reality that He is interested in your life and that He has good plans for you.
Many people have lost the ability to dream, they’ve had some disappointments along the way and now they don’t look ahead with expectation anymore. May I remind us that one of God’s greatest dreams was to reconcile humankind back to Himself through the death and resurrection of Jesus. God is a God of destiny and purpose and He wants us to engage with Him in this regard.
As we start this “Living the Dream” series, we want to invite you to come with an open heart to encounter God and His heart for our lives. This series will also be very helpful for our unchurched friends – seeing that many need to find a fresh sense of destiny and hope in these times.
Do we really need the church? If so, why? Some will argue that the church is an antiquated institution that is irrelevant in a postmodern world.
How does a local church, like CityChurch, make a difference in a world that seems more chaotic and confused?
Together, let’s discover the church’s mystery and beauty and why it matters!
One cannot study the life of Jesus without recognizing all the amazing healings and miracles He performed. It was and is a very large part of His ministry. Then we look at the book of Acts and we see many healings and miracles done by believers. As we also study church history, we see many testimonies of healing and miracles.
This is a very special blessing and God’s word affirms that He still heals today. The challenge often is that we don’t always see physical healing and that makes us wonder. I believe that God is calling us to contend for what we see in scripture, even in the midst of the mystery. Even when we don’t understand, we can still trust Him for miracles – because He is the same yesterday, today and forever more!
Join us as we answer a very difficult question and as we all grow in trusting God to use us to bring His healing to people who need it.
We all have a story to tell. Think about your life, your experiences, some of your highs and some of your lows. Most parts of our stories are so unique and special – it’s real. As believers, our lives and our faith are closely linked.
The good news about Jesus Christ and the impact that He made in us is
the story each of us carry – it’s a story that most would love to hear. Sharing our faith needs to become a way of life, an expression of love and gratitude. It really is bearing witness to the reality of Jesus and all of us can share it.
Join us as we take the “religiosity” out of sharing our faith and we explore the most powerful keys to testifying authentically.
It’s Easter and we have reason to celebrate the new life that Jesus made possible through His death and resurrection. What a GIFT! What a JOY! Jesus is risen and death is defeated and we are victorious in Him! It is by far the most amazing news – no one has to be lost, hopeless, shameful, guilty, bound or rejected. Jesus paid it all and His resurrection established the victory that we can all experience! There is a special freedom that we have access to: Not only “freedom from” things that hold us back, but also “freedom to” embrace more of what God has for us!
Join us as we explore our freedom in Christ, the way to live our lives in the light of His Glory and Grace. We will give each person something special to remind us all about the value that Jesus places on each of us and the victory we have in Him.
The beautiful privilege of a Christ follower is that we can hear God’s voice and we can follow His leading. Knowing God involves knowing His will, He makes His will known to us by confirming it through His Word, His Spirit and His people.
This is going to be a very special Sunday, it’ll be part of our Holy Spirit Weekend and we will have our friend David Swart from Columbus OH with us. David used to be a worship pastor in Chicago before going into banking, his banking career took him and his family to Columbus OH where they planted 614 church. At first David was leading the church while working as a CFO for Huntington Bank and then he resigned from his job to devote all his time to the church. David and Kathy serve on the NCMI team and their church is really a stunning expression of Jesus in their city.
As the Best Seller of all time, the Bible is the most amazing book ever compiled. It is a compilation of 66 Books, written over 1500 years by 40+ human authors and ONE Editor and Chief.
It is the inspired Word of God and still more than 100 million bibles are sold or given away every single year. Billions of lives have been changed by just reading it - it’s filled with truth, principles for life and timeless wisdom for every generation. Much more than that, at its core: the Bible is God’s love letter to us where He expresses His undying love for us through the countless passages of redemption, forgiveness, kindness, goodness and empowerment etc.
Join us as we explore the Power of God’s word and how we can engage with God’s word in a way that profoundly impacts every part of our lives. God’s Word is alive and brings life to our lives as we engage with Him through His Word.
There has been so many questions about prayer...‘Does it work?’, ‘How should I pray?’, ‘Why are some prayers answered and others not?’ etc. Prayer is vital to our relationship with God and it’s often neglected, because we don’t fully understand the privilege or the power thereof.
I am convinced that God wants to liberate us from the duty of prayer and bring us into the beauty of prayer. He is calling us to a deeper connection with Him that transcends all temporary demands.
Join us as we explore the more that God has for us, taking hold of the encounters in God and the divine interactions He made available to us.
Even though we spent a considerable amount of time on faith during our ‘Radical Faith’ series, there are still difficult questions about faith in Jesus Christ.
No matter how true the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ is, you can’t enjoy the benefits without believing in Him. Many people might feel like the disciples who asked Jesus to help them in their unbelief.
Join us as we look at a few people interacting with Jesus by faith and learn how we can grow in walking by faith. It’s powerful to note that faith is not ‘super spiritual’, but rather practical and authentic. When we ‘believe in’, ‘rely on’ and ‘trust in’ Jesus, everything changes and that’s why this question is so important to our lives today.
Many people understand the cross to be a legitimate historic event that happened and we try to remember it especially around Easter time every year. This is really just a fraction of the significance of the cross.
The cross of Jesus Christ is one of the most life giving realities of all time – it’s way more than an event in History, it’s actually pivotal to our everyday lives. When the questions about the cross are answered then life, liberty and freedom become more and more tangible. The Kingdom of God comes in and through our lives, our mere existence makes more sense and our joy becomes complete.
Oh the wonders of the cross, oh the glory of our Savior’s love and the life transforming power available to us. My prayer is that this will be a life changing opportunity for you and your friends as you survey the wonderous cross.
As we launch our “Got Questions?” series, it’s important to start with the most influential and controversial person that has ever lived and is still alive…Jesus. Time magazine named Him the most influential figure in all of history and close to 3 Billion people on the planet call Him their Lord and Savior.
He called Himself the only way to the Father and paid the ultimate price for our freedom. Jesus Christ is still changing lives every single day, He is gracious, compassionate, loving, forgiving and also righteous and true. He is the only true King and when we see Him rightly, our lives start making sense.
For many people these are very difficult questions – “Is Jesus really real?”, “Is He the only way to eternal salvation?”, “How can I trust Jesus as Lord and Savior?”. Join us as we explore these important questions that affect our lives and eternity in a real way.
There’s a difference between worrying about tomorrow and planning for tomorrow.
While we don’t invest out of fear, we actually still need to invest by faith. God wants us to manage the resources He gives us in such a way that we have enough in lower income seasons of our lives. It glorifies God and it honors our families when we don’t spend everything we earn, but invest a portion of our income for the future.
Join us as we look at the Bible and catch God’s heart for our financial management. This could make a difference for you and your family.
One of the greatest gifts we can give ourselves is to give to God. It sometimes feels counterintuitive, but it’s a profound reality - He has given so much to us and we have the privilege to respond to His generosity by being generous ourselves.
Join us as we explore the beauty of giving to God and honoring Him with our finances.
We live in a world where we are conditioned to be unsatisfied with what we have - we have to have more, what we have is not enough. Isn’t it amazing how we complicate our lives with more stuff? This leads to constantly upgrading, buying more and often using debt to do so.
Join us this week as we open our hearts to God’s truth about our approach to finances and possessions.
When we read the New Testament, we often see God using prophetic voices to strengthen, encourage and edify His people. My heart is that you will receive from God and that Jesus will be honored and glorified this Sunday.
We are sorry due to technical issues a portion of the sermon is missing.
We all face giants and we all go through seasons of limitations and it’s in those seasons where we often come to the end of ourselves. God wants to give us His faith in those times of desperation. Join us as we are reminded that God makes a way where there seems to be no way.
Join us as we continue our Radical Faith series, learning from a person who experienced restoration in the midst of a challenging situation. This is part of our special season as we Celebrate Jesus, the Hope of the world coming to earth to restore what was lost.
A life of Radical Faith really results in obedience, but this doesn’t have to be sophisticated or ‘super-spiritual’. It truly is often just simple obedience that makes the difference.
Join us as we engage with Naaman, a very successful character who encountered God’s restoration in his life when he obeyed by faith in a simple way.
We are often overwhelmed by what we don’t have. It’s exhausting to constantly address the apparent lack in our lives, but God has a better way for us all. This way is Radical Faith! A life where we give thanks by faith. We will engage with the truth that Jesus is not just enough, but He is in fact more than enough and it’s when we give Him thanks that we experience it.
When we trust God with Radical Faith, He turns dead areas to life, He becomes more than enough for us in every way. It’s not about having the answers, it’s about trusting the ONE who IS the answer. Join us as we explore a life of trusting God and His Word in the midst of everyday life.
In this message we will engage with the reality of God’s promises in our lives and the role that faith plays to access His promises. We will glean from the examples of a resourceful woman of faith and a humble prophet.
Welcome to your journey of faith. We follow Jesus by faith, we love by faith and we are called to live by faith. Every single part of our lives requires faith and Jesus is the author and perfecter of our faith.
Jesus constituted not just a new understanding of faith, but a new people. The church. If Jesus identifies himself so closely with his church, then surely so must I. But what does it mean to have an identity that goes beyond just me, that involves that difficult thing of other people?
The Bible also calls believers, who trust in Jesus - “Ambassadors”. We are citizens of Heaven, representing our King and His Kingdom here on earth. We have the privilege and honor to be commissioned by our King as ambassadors. Join us as we embrace our God given privileges.
When we understand our eternal citizenship, it helps us to gain perspective on the realities we are facing here on earth. Join us as we explore our heavenly citizenship and how it impacts the way we live here on earth.
When you put your faith in Jesus Christ, you become a saint and as you follow Him, you live out your identity as a saint. Explore the freedom of becoming who we already are - living out our new Identity as SAINTS.
Today we will explore the joy in knowing that we are adopted into the family of GOD as true sons and daughters, with all the rights that God's children have.
The truth is that everyone experiences an Identity GAP - the GAP between how you see yourself and how God sees you. When we are not secure in the truth about who we are and Who’s we are, we become insecure and this affects every single part of our lives. Join us as we start our Identity Series, engaging in the truth about God and ourselves - being established in Him.
The call of God for every believer is to walk in constant revelation of Jesus and His purpose. This is an opportunity for us to go a bit deeper in engaging with Jesus as a Visionary.
The call of God for every believer is to walk in constant revelation of Jesus and His purposes. This is an opportunity for us to go a bit deeper in engaging with Jesus as a Visionary.
Vision Sunday is extra special, we are reminded to engage with God’s vision for each of us personally, our family and also our church. It’s a very valuable opportunity for you to lift your head and to see beyond the here and now.
It’s powerful to realize that there’s no future in our past and that we need to be willing to ‘let go’ in order to ‘take hold'. God has called each of us for His purpose and His glory, but we need to respond to this invitation.
Everyone desires to live a full life, but not everyone knows how to. Jesus died so we can really live: in Him and filled with the power of His Spirit.
In Philippians chapter two, Paul asks his beloved church to make his joy complete by having the same mindset as Christ. How can we as a church do the same? What stops us? Join us as we explore how we as a church would respond to a “knock at midnight!”
As we continue our journey through the book of Philippians, we are excited to encounter the value of Jesus and to be moved to offer our lives as a worship offering to our great King!
Paul’s joy at the mere thought of the Philippian church is undeniable in the letter, and it’s that same joy that he wanted the believers to possess as well. To lead the Philippians to this truth, Paul took them directly to Jesus, teaching them that a community of believers living in harmony with one another comes only through mutual humility modeled after our Savior.
While the Holy Spirit is ultimately the gift of the Father, many of us have settled for getting gifts like eternal blessing, love, grace and favor, but there is so much more to the “Gift of the Father.”
Just like harvesting fruit from a fruit tree, growing our spiritual fruitfulness takes time and a healthy environment. But we can grow our fruit by abiding in Jesus and inhaling His fragrance of love, patience, joy, etc.
The Holy Spirit is not only our comforter, but we are also empowered by Him. A large part of being empowered by the Holy Spirit is found in 1 Corinthians 12 – a powerful encouragement from scripture to engage with the gifts of the Holy Spirit.
Christianity was never supposed to be boring - a fundamental religious list of do's and don'ts. It is a living experience of following Jesus, the living Christ with the power of His Spirit! Paul wrote to Timothy that many people have a form of godliness, but deny its power (2 Timothy 3:5).
What about us in Charlotte? Will we settle for a powerless life or will we open our lives to the authentic presence and power of the Holy Spirit?
Many believers know about the Holy Spirit and the blessings found in Him, but they struggle to take hold of these privileges. In this talk, we look at some biblical ways to receive from the Holy Spirit and see that actually it is not difficult or super spiritual, but very authentic and life giving.
Our Holy Spirit series continues with this talk from special guest Dr. Paul Alexander, president of Trinity Bible College.
In this talk, we examine the role of the Holy Spirit and explore eight biblical truths about the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives.
The Holy Spirit was present and involved in creation. He was involved in Jesus’ ministry and in Acts 2 we read how the church was birthed in the power of the Holy Spirit. CityChurch Charlotte was also started with a move of God’s Spirit where lives were radically impacted by His presence and power.
Bible has a lot to say about walking in the grace of God, experiencing what it means to be an authentic Christian and offering grace to others.
We have Christ in us, the hope of Glory! God wants us to grow in knowing our glorious King and encountering His glory. Could you imagine a life filled with the glory of God – our friendships, our families, our homes and our church all filled with His Glory?
Even though the resurrection is definitely a historical event and factual evidence of the deity of Christ - It is even more. Jesus' resurrection and our lives intersect today and that makes all the difference! In a world of doubt, discouragement and delay – we need fresh assurance of new life! Jesus did not only talk about the reality of resurrection, He actually IS our resurrection and our life
In this talk, we focus on Jesus’ words around Celebrating. When we study the life of Jesus, we often see Him being relational by simply eating with people. Jesus calls His followers into a lifestyle of enjoying Him, celebrating His life, love, grace, presence, forgiveness, etc.
As our Red Letter Challenge continues, we will dive into the parable of The Good Samaritan as we explore what Jesus says about being generous and our call to be kind to the needy.
Mark will also show us how giving is connected to going.
Our Father in Heaven has asked us to be the light of the world by letting our light shine before humankind.
What does that mean and is it really possible in a world so full of pain and poverty? Can one person really make a difference, and will it be enough? The gospel response to that question is "Yes and Amen!"
Have you ever heard “The Sound of Grace”? At the center of the good news of Jesus Christ lies the reality of forgiveness. It’s extremely powerful and the Red Letters of Jesus often liberate us around this truth.
To conclude our Experiencing God Weekend, our friend Bruce McAlpine brings us a word from the book of Revelation
Following Jesus hinges on “Being with Him”. Our doing flows from our being – it’s such an important reality in our walk of faith. Before we do amazing things with Him, obey His word or serve others – we have to grow in coming to Him.
As we transition from the Book of Jonah to our Red Letter Challenge, we will see that even though Jonah was used by God, he still was not secure in God. Our lives are fragile and we all wrestle with so many things. This is exactly why we need a firm foundation and to build our lives on Jesus Christ and on who He is and what He has said.
In this week’s message from the book of Jonah we see the beauty of Jonah’s obedient response to God’s invitation. God is about to reveal Himself to Nineveh and Jonah has an opportunity to be part of a powerful move of God. Just like Jonah, each of us have the opportunity to join our Father in His ministry
In this talk, we look at Jonah in the belly of a fish. It’s a powerful picture of God doing a deep work in Jonah. This is very encouraging to all of us, because as we humble ourselves before God in prayer – He lifts us up. We come to a place of surrender and we learn to trust our faithful Father!
Life is full of storms and they come for different reasons. Sometimes they are the result of our hard hearts. Other times they are just the result of unforeseen circumstances. Storms can be scary and they can reveal who we trust and who we worship. God will never waste a storm in our lives.
The book of Jonah is a powerful expression of God’s relentless pursuit of those who know Him and those who do not. God is passionate about winning our hearts. In our first part of this series we will look at “Renewal” and how it is so needed in our own hearts.
If we can only experience our Father’s heart more and more daily, it’ll change every part of our lives! Too many of us have a distorted view of our Father and that affects our view of ourselves and others.
Just like Jesus was affirmed and loved by our Father, each of us can experience His love and affirmation.
God's perfect love casts out fear. This is why it’s important for us to experience our Father’s heart. Knowing our Heavenly Father is extremely powerful.
We all know that the Christmas story is about hope being birthed into the world. But what exactly are we hoping for? And what if the things we hope for, maybe even things we felt God had promised us, don’t happen (or at least, not as we expected)? As we enter the third week of Advent season, we’ll explore what it means to say Jesus is the hope of nations (Matt. 12:21).
God does not delight in religious obligatory giving. He is a relational God who loves His children. God calls us to honor Him with our finances, responding to His faithfulness. Our giving does not earn God’s goodness, but it’s a response to His goodness. The word of God is so powerful and it reveals the ways of God to us.
Stewardship is really misunderstood today. It is actually an invitation to know more of the blessings of God...especially when it comes to money. In this talk, we explore that and set ourselves up to experience the reality of it!
we welcome once again NCMI global leader Tyrone Daniel as he comes to speak to CityChurch with a message of encouragement the Lord has given him especially for us!
We may sometimes forget that money management is important to God and that it has a spiritual affect on us. The reality is that money does matter. In fact, the Bible offers more than 2,350 verses on money and possessions. Throughout our new series "Money Matters" we will explore how to create a financial vision that will free you to manage your finances the way God intended and move you forward to financial freedom.
This week, we look at the last of our distinct and connected purposes: The Great Commission, one of Jesus' final commands to His followers.
Our calling for "The Common Good" means we have the privilege to be an expression of Christ wherever life takes us. With the Lord's empowerment, we can be moved with compassion to be a blessing to those in need.
God wants to show us our purpose within His purpose. God wants to declare His love, delight and passion for the church, His beautiful bride, and to inspire and empower us to live out our Purpose together as His body.
This week we consider what it means to be “likeminded” in Christ! Why should we desire this purpose for our lives?
We are on a journey of discovering more about our purpose here on earth. It is important to understand that scripture teaches that we are called to at least five general purposes. Many people think they need to “find themselves” by looking in many different places.
In order to understand our purpose, we have to find ourselves in Christ. Everything starts with knowing Him and finding our value in Him. Jesus said in John 17:3:
“Now this is eternal life: that they know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom You have sent.”
Before we can go and live out our purpose, we first have to come to Jesus and learn how to draw from Him, the well that never runs dry.
Have you ever come across the story of Alice in Wonderland? In a conversation between Alice and the Cheshire Cat, Alice asked, "Would you tell me please, which way I ought to go from here?" "That depends a good deal on where you want to get to," said the cat. "I don't much care where," said Alice. "Then it doesn't matter which way you go," said the cat. In order to grow in our purpose, we have to start with the question – “Where do I want to get to?”
It’s almost impossible to preach about prayer without mentioning fasting. God’s word is filled with examples of prayer that’s accompanied by fasting. After the disciples could not drive out a demon, Jesus said that some spiritual breakthroughs can only come through prayer and fasting (Mark 9:29). Biblical, Christ-Centered fasting is a very powerful blessing we all have access to. Sadly, too many people have misunderstood this spiritual discipline and have rejected prayer and fasting.
Most of us know the Lord’s Prayer as something we might mumble every so often in the kind of church service our grandparents used to go to or when we just don’t know what else to pray. But what if it was something far more vital than that? What if it was an incredibly elegant and succinct pulling together of the most important themes of our faith story, designed to re-orientate our prayers to the very heart and mind of Jesus?
Faith is an integral part of prayer, we have to believe that God hears our prayers and that He is able to do miracles. If we settle for a powerless religious prayer life, we deny ourselves the joy of engaging with an Almighty, All Powerful God who loves it when call out to Him!
God is not far from us and He has made a way for us to talk to Him. We often seem to forget about the privilege we have to talk to our Heavenly Father. He knows what we need and He loves answering our prayers, we just need to ask Him. Our God is relational and prayer is a vital part of building this powerful relationship with Him.
Special Guest speaker Bruce McAlpine has extensive experience in Business and Church Leadership. He also works in Zimbabwe, Columbia, Brazil, and Venezuela. Bruce personally works with more than 80 Pastors in South Africa to empower them to grow. He has been on the NCMI Ministry team since 2005.
There are rhythms and seasons in all aspects of our lives. And this week as we look at Jesus sending out the 72 onto the mission field, we’ll explore how that’s true of our spiritual lives too. Our lives around ‘the table of the Lord’ aren’t static, they are dynamic and ever changing. And there is both coming and going at the table, invitation and sending.
The table is a picture of love, forgiveness and unity. Jesus said that a kingdom divided against itself cannot stand. The same goes for families, teams, friendships and churches. The reality is that God commands His Blessing where there is unity (Psalm 133).
We tend to think of our spiritual inheritance as something that we will receive at some point in the future. The Bible makes it clear however that it is also available for each of us right now - today! If that is the case, what is it and what difference is it meant to make to our lives?
There’s something special that happens when God’s people believe together! It’s a divine reality that’s truly supernatural. When we unite in faith, God multiplies our impact and we see miracles. It’s very powerful when we put our faith out together. The impossible is made possible, breakthroughs come and God gets the glory!
Together, we are all called to join Jesus in His mission on earth. Our lives can really count for His glory. Winkie Platney said: "God is looking for willing hearts...God has no favorites. You do not have to be special, but you have to be available."
For believers ’The Table’ is a picture of Togetherness and Feasting. It’s a picture of love and joy that flows from Christ Centered Community… In this first part we will catch God’s heart for every person on the planet - how Jesus makes us ‘The Planting of the Lord for the display of His splendor’ (Isaiah 61:3).
What does the Resurrection Life of Jesus look like as a community? In Acts 2 we glimpse a community of Christ-centered-otherness that had a radical impact on the ancient world. What would that look like for us today?
This is the miracle where Jesus reveals Himself as “The Resurrection and The Life”… Join us this Sunday as we grow in the resurrection power of Christ! God will divinely allow us to come to the end of ourselves in order to experience His resurrection life. May we say like Paul did in Philippians 3:10 – “I want to know Christ and the power of His Resurrection!”
Amazing Grace how sweet the sound… “Was blind, but now I see”! In Ephesians 1:18, we read how Paul prays that the eyes of their hearts would be enlightened… Jesus came to reveal Himself as the light of the world and He came to deliver us from spiritual blindness.
God wants nothing more than to shine His glory through the middle of your storms… even if it means walking on water to save you!
Jesus reveals himself powerfully when he feeds the 5000. Jesus is in fact the Bread of Life and He is more than enough for us! By multiplying the five loaves and two fish, Jesus shows that He can satisfy the deepest need in our lives.
Special Guest speaker Peter Rasmussen brings us a message on "Joy" as we conclude our Experiencing God weekend
Even though Jesus promises us 'life to the full' our lives often feel somewhat short of that. In this scripture, Jesus not only renews His promise of new life, but shows us exactly how this can become ever more real to us in our lives today.
Have you ever had someone say when you’re facing problems, something like, “You’ve just got to have more faith!” It can be quite annoying, right? But what if Jesus is actually saying something similar to us? What kind of faith is Jesus looking for more of in us?
Turning water into wine was a very significant miracle in Jesus’ Ministry. It was His first sign and it revealed who He is and why He came. There’s way more to this specific miracle than meets the eye.
The Resurrection was not some conjuring trick that somehow proved that Jesus was right or that He is in fact God. The Apostle Paul said the Resurrection is central to our Christian faith, saying, “if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith.” (1 Cor. 15:14). So did it really happen? What exactly was the Resurrection? And what does it mean for us as followers of Jesus today?
The story of Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem, which we remember as Palm Sunday, is well known to most church goers. But is there more to the events on that day than simply a crowd welcoming Jesus as Israel’s Messiah? And what can it tell us about how we relate to Jesus as King?
As we draw the Gifted Series to a close the question for us is: What do we do now with what we have learned about ourselves and our gifts? Could there be a clue when Peter talks about strange and wonderful things in which we all become a Kingdom of Priests?
The Gift of Leadership is vitally needed in our generation. There are enough critical, cynical & self-centered people to go around - We need Leaders who are people of faith, who aren’t afraid of big challenges because they see an even bigger God. Christlike leadership expresses itself with humility and grace, empowering others to work together for a common purpose.
The “Gift of Giving” is an expression of the Gospel of Jesus Christ! Generosity is at the center of who God is and how He saved us. Being generous is way more than giving money – we can express this gift in many creative ways.
This week as part of our GIFTED series, we’re diving into the grace gifts of Teaching and Encouragement. What important gifts they are for the local church, especially in hard times! During a difficult period of Israel’s history, God says through the prophet Hosea, “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge” (Hosea 4:6). And who doesn’t need encouragement these days!
Service is getting involved in practical tasks that need doing and mercy is showing compassion, empathy and kindness to others, particularly those in need. These are high-impact gifts that express the character of Christ.
Prophecy is the privilege of speaking the very words of God. We are all encouraged to prophecy and this gift is extremely powerful. This gift is primarily for strengthening, encouraging, and comforting others.
Discover your gift so that you can share it with others! God says we are unique, fearfully and wonderfully made, chosen, and loved! Because there is no one else like us, we each have a gift given to us by God.
We are all fearfully and wonderfully made by our gifted Creator (Psalm 139), As we kick off our new series "Gifted: Discover Your Superpowers" special guest speaker Mark Bailey will unpack four statements that’s true for each of us: “I am Unique”, “I am Connected”, “I need to grow” and “I am called to Act”.
More than 2,000 years ago, the early church grew rapidly as a place that offered radical hospitality, daring to welcome friend and foe. If revival is what we are hoping for, perhaps the same radical hospitality needs to be at the center of all our thinking.
Nehemiah’s actions didn’t just bring a physical rebuilding but also a spiritual rebirth in the lives of the Israelite people. As each building block was placed with purpose and intention during the rebuilding of the wall, the Lord does the same with our lives. He lays building blocks of revival in our lives to complete His work in and through us.
Opposition often comes when we obey God. We can respond to opposition by trusting in our great God, remembering our identity in Him, worshiping Him and recognizing His call on our lives
Nehemiah doesn’t strike you as the kind of person to take on a dangerous task, like rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem in the face of enemies. He’s practical and administrative. But his gifts turn out to be exactly what are needed for the job. This week we’ll explore how our gifts can make a way for us, if we dare to embrace them for what they are.
As we start out the New Year, we will be diving into the story of Nehemiah, a great hero of Israel, who against impossible odds rebuilt Jerusalem after the devastating years of Babylonian exile. As we get into this story of hope, we will be asking ourselves: "Where are we in our own story and what is God inviting us into as we enter the next part of our journey."
It is time once again for our All Age Carol service full of singing, dancing, parody songs and drama as we tell the story of Christmas CityChurch style! The CityChurch band also has some special Christmas arrangements to share.
Every year pastors all over America wonder how to fight back against the rampant commercialization of Christmas. Rightly so, you might say! But what if we might be missing something in pushing back…that a true understanding of 'gift' is actually fundamental to the Christmas story!
Introducing Mark Bailey, candidate for lead pastor. He is continuing our Christmas sermon series with a talk on the gift of giving.
Have you ever asked yourself what the point of Christmas is? Not just the day as we know it, the gifts, the friends, the family, the food. But why did the birth of Jesus happen at all? In the first of our series ‘Christmas is for Everyone,’ we’re going to explore that question through the eyes of Israel’s great prophet, Isaiah.
Jesus often asked questions, and He does exactly that when he meets the Samaritan woman at the well. The dialogue that follows not only tells us about Jesus and the Kingdom of God but challenges us to consider what exactly Jesus asks of us each and every day.
When Pontius Pilate met Jesus, he couldn’t get his head round the man. This was said to be a king, but he was unlike any king Pilate had ever heard of. He claimed to have power, but it wasn’t power as Pilate, a Roman Governor, understood it. Jesus stood in front of him an accused criminal, and talked about the truth. Yet Jesus refused to defend himself.
The encounters between Nicodemus and Jesus have been lauded in paintings, sculptures by Michangelo and debated by many a theologian. As we examine our text we will discover if Nicodemus came as a seeker of the truth or a critic of the Way.
Throughout history, even as recently as Dan Brown’s controversial bestseller, The Da Vinci Code, Mary Magdalene’s image has been repeatedly conscripted, contorted, and contradicted. But who was she? Why does she excite such wild imagination? And what does her own story of ‘Meeting Jesus’ really tell us?
In this first encounter from our new series "Meeting Jesus" we see Jesus as He sees a blind man and heals him. As that man gets to see Jesus up close and personal it changes him, and he begins to share Jesus with others.
The desire for significance, for our lives to actually mean something, is as human as the need for food and shelter. But what if we never get to be on the cover of Time Magazine? What if no book ever has our name on it? That’s the story of Caleb which we’re diving into this week. We’ll discover that even though he is just a ‘grace note’ in the story of Joshua, his life was still full of significance.
Joshua is a very tough book to read. Stories of war and mass destruction are never fun, matter of fact they can be depressing. But as we look at this week's story, we will be reminded of a greater redemption. We will be reminded of the beauty of us being able to look at Jesus, and see who God really is.
What if all of the disobedience, the set backs, the wondering and fear was really birthing faith in the Israelites? As they face Jericho - the only thing that separated them from the anticipated promise land - will their obedience rise so His faithfulness can shine as the walls crumble? Will they choose to complete what God had started 40 years prior and lay hold of all that God has?
This week we’re jumping ahead past the victory of Jericho (which we’ll hear about next week) to a significant failure in the story of Joshua. What are we supposed to make of Israel’s defeat? And what should we make of our own? This part of Joshua’s story will take us to difficult, but life-giving and ultimately victorious places.
As believers we know we should always be progressing in our spiritual journey. But how many times do we stop short of receiving what God wants us to have? And how do we move from where we are to where God wants us to be? For the next 6 weeks, we’re going to explore the story of Joshua and how he entered into the promises of God.
"Messy Church" involves competitive games (with prizes), crafts and activities. As you may have guessed, this service will be in a less organized manner than our usual services. And that's the fun! Be prepared to sit around a table with your family, life groups or friends! We promise you will have a ton of fun as these games and activities reinforce short devotions on the topic of prayer. We will also have worship, of course.
Why did people who were considered disreputable, not the ‘in-crowd’, or not-the-right-kind-of-religious flock to Jesus? They clearly liked to hang out with him and frequently turned up at the parties Jesus was invited to. In this last part of our Art of Neighboring series, we explore the story of Jesus at a neighborhood party of sinners and tax collectors...definitely the ‘out-crowd.'
This week look at perhaps one of the greatest hindrances to Jesus's command of loving our neighbor: Fear. Where does fear come from and what is it costing us to continue avoiding relationships with our neighbors? The answer may truly surprise you.
“I deeply believe that outside of apathy and fear, the greatest hindrance to Jesus mission in our lives is margin. We just don’t have time and space for agape love.” That’s a quote from Jon Tyson, pastor in the busiest of busy cities, NYC. As we continue our series, the Art of Neighboring, we’ll explore what it might look look like to reclaim our margins…for the sake of Jesus.
The power and genius of the Great Commandment is that it's so simple and yet extremely powerful when acted on. The smartest thing that we can do collectively to impact our city is to actually live out Jesus' command to love our neighbors!
Yes, it’s the glorious Fourth and there is much to celebrate in the American story, as well as constitutional promise yet to be realized. Life, liberty, happiness. These are also Gospel themes and promises made by Jesus! So where do we look to find their fulfillment?
God is faithful in building His Church, but He does it through us. We must take that serious and walk carefully. (1 Peter 2:4-17)
With so many things vying for our attention, how do we put our identity in Christ, and be a unified body to expand the Kingdom? In this talk we discuss what Paul writes about in Ephesians chapter 3 & 4.
As we read the parable of the wise and foolish builder this Sunday we see the importance of building on the foundations of Christ's commands.
Throughout the Gospels there are moments when Jesus’ disciples had a choice…to go the way of the crowd, or to go the way of Jesus. Jesus never looked to draw the crowds, even though they followed Him. He looked for true disciples, people who would love Him and follow His way, no matter the cost.
Our lives are filled with planning, yet we have no idea what will happen tomorrow. We know all the right concepts and ideas of being a Christian, but do we live them out?
Even though the call into faith never ends, it is so easy to find ourselves stagnating in our faith journey. In his last sermon as our lead Pastor, Al reflects on the journey of faith we have been on as a church and encourages us to move forward pressing on into faith in our lives and as a church.
God's Call on our lives often seems unlikely...including when He says we will do 'greater things' than He did (John 14:12). This week, as Al reflects on God's call to plant CityChurch, he shares the key to pursuing the call of God and invites us to put that into practice in the years ahead.
Before the biggest moments of challenge, change and opportunity in the biblical narrative, God has often told His people to remember! To remember their story and what God has done for them. This month we are going to be looking back in order to look forward to the next chapter of CityChurch's own story.
When we are going through hard times, it is easy for our spiritual fire to slowly fade. Looking at what the disciples did right, wrong and what they believed when a storm threatened to drown them, Niki helps us regain our faith and spiritual fire no matter what life's thrown at us.
We can never experience the adventure of faith, the very life that Jesus has called us too, when we are too safe and too comfortable. Today, choose to take that step, have that talk, go to that neighborhood, choose to walk in faith.
Reflecting on his past 15 years as a Pastor, Al shares the one thing that he has seen quash our spirituality more than anything else. What is it? Are we willing to address it and if so, how can we do that so we can re-ignite our spiritual fire at this time!
John's gospel was written so that 'by believing we may have life in His name' (20:31). On this Easter Day we explore the nature of this belief 'that leads to life', expose the things that hinder it and highlight Jesus' plan for us to step into all He won for us.
Even though most people have no idea of the purpose of their life, the Bible is clear that God has a purpose for us and wants us to walk fully in it. In this Palm Sunday talk, we identify what our purpose is, why we tend to miss it and how we can step more into it in the days ahead.
The Vine and the Branches is one of the best known texts in the New Testament. Jesus urges us all to ‘Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine.' But we don’t often focus on what Jesus says a bit later, ‘I no longer call you servants…I have called you friends!’ It’s a remarkable statement, a glimpse of the glory we have been called into. But what exactly does it mean to be called a friend of Jesus?
Why would Jesus wash his disciples feet? In this talk, we dive into this intimate moment between Jesus and his disciples, and see how Jesus is calling us to follow his example of servanthood.
Why did Jesus weep as He approached Lazarus' tomb? As we explore the surprising answer to this question we will not only get a revealing glimpse of God's glory but be challenged to share Jesus' heartfelt passion and to apply it to our own lives.
Loving God and obeying His commands is hard. As we finish our series in 1 John we see the reason to do this: 'Everyone born of God overcomes the world!'. In this talk, we look at what it means to overcome the world and we recommit ourselves to loving God and obeying His commands.
In the book of John, John refers to himself on six occasions as the disciple whom Jesus loved. What was it that John understood about God's love? In "God is Love", Lynn Craig takes a look at the love of God that has the power to cast out fear and helps us discover how we can begin to walk in the fullness of God's love. Please join us this Sunday for "God is Love."
Loving well involves us making choices. In this talk, we look at John's instruction to 'Not love the world or anything in the world' and ask not only what that actually means for our lives but also why this is the key to living our lives and thriving within the love of God.
Is love really at the heart of the Gospel story? Or is love just a 'good thing.' As we begin our new series "A Month of Love" Matt Hemsley will take us through "The Story of Love" and what part it plays in the Gospel.
On this Vision Sunday, Al shares his conviction that God is preparing CityChurch for a lot more of His Kingdom, His life and His work in the months ahead. Looking at Exodus 18, he explains why that is and invites each of us to find the part God has for us in what is taking place.
Jesus has given us everything we need to thrive in our faith, and yet the truth is it often remains hard to persevere on. In this talk we explore exactly what we need to do to thrive in faith and why the bible encourages us to keep meeting together - because we need each other!
In this talk, Al considers what God is doing in the area of Racial Reconciliation. Looking at the Parable of the Good Samaritan we ask: What is God's perspective? What does it mean to be a good neighbor? How can we all take steps toward greater reconciliation in our society today?
As we continue to unfold our Vision for 2021, Al talks about the opportunities we have to help those in need. Looking at Jesus' encounter with Bartimaeus, we see not God's call to hear the cry from 'the margins' and His call to follow Jesus to 'the margins.'
Please enjoy the UK Blessing to close our service out this morning! We hope you receive this blessing over you and your family.
Jesus brings us 'Beauty from Ashes'. In this talk Al kicks off 2021 by reflecting on that profound truth. He shares an exciting vision for the year ahead in which Jesus invites us to the 'great gift exchange' - our ashes for the beauty he offers.
With Jesus' birth, the light of life came into the world. How should we respond? Jesus simply says 'You are the light of the world'. What are we to make of that? and how does that help us know how to respond to the incredible gift Jesus brings at Christmas?
Matthew 4:12-17 & 5:14-16
As we celebrate our wonderful 'Very Virtual' Christmas service, we reflect on the light that Christ brings into the world and into our lives. Can we let that light illuminate our lives anew and afresh this year?
Few people like waiting, yet we are all now stuck in a time of waiting for this pandemic to pass. As we continue our Advent series we discover that waiting is a critical spiritual task, that as Christians, we are well equipped for it and that in reality we are never really fully waiting at all!
During times of deep hardship, Isaiah instructs God's people to sing a new song of praise to the Lord. In this talk, we explore why He does that and how, like back then, this simple act can be the key to finding lasting hope in the midst of difficult times.
Faith is meant to be an exciting adventure with fresh blessings every morning. Yet, over time that excitement can fade and the journey can become dull. In Al's talk we will explore how to notice when you have lost your spiritual edge, how to respond and how to get it back again!
God wants to take us from places of scarcity to a place of provision. Especially with what is going on in our society and our church right now. In this talk we will explore how to move from scarcity and walk into a place of provision. We hear more from Al about what God is doing in our church, how we can respond and what to expect for the future.
If you haven't heard about the upcoming news that Al shared earlier this week via email please read more about that in the link below. Al talks more about this in his talk, 'From Scarcity to Provision'.
Many of us feel things are happening around us that we can’t control. We long for the right outcomes and we believe nothing is impossible for God. But what is the church supposed to do when we can’t make things happen the way we want? This Sunday we look at a story from the Old Testament when Israel was in just such an impossible situation, and why God told his people to dig ditches.
Always expect the best! During difficult times, we can end up with low expectations of God. This week's message, "Expecting a Double Portion," reminds us that we should always expect great things from the Lord. As "Extraordinary Faith in Extraordinary Times" continues, Pastor Al uses the example of Elisha to show us that no matter what is going on, we can ask for a double portion!
This week guest speaker, Tamara Burdon, focused on our readiness as one of the keys to a committed walk with Jesus. In order to remain steadfast in our faith, we do not have to look any further than Elisha's example. In this talk we ask the question, are you ready?
In this series we will be looking at some of the unfolding story of Elisha. His story is truly remarkable and is certainly one of ‘Extraordinary Faith in Extraordinary Times’. By looking at how God moved in his life we want to encourage our church to have the same – Extraordinary Faith in Extraordinary Times!
If, as the bible maintains, 'The heart is the wellspring of life' (Prov. 4:23) then we must guard it. In this talk, we explore what we are guarding it from, how God calls us to guard it and the difference it will make to our lives as we do.
How do you navigate anger? In her talk "Navigating Anger" Lynn Craig looks at what Ephesians 4:26-32 has to say about anger and how we as disciples of Christ should respond.
Many of us have found ourselves disappointed, angry, frustrated and hurt by the events of this coming election. In Romans 12:21, Paul tells us 'not to be overcome by evil but to overcome evil with good.' But what does that mean and why should we take that instruction seriously at this time? Pastor Al addresses these questions in "Overcoming the World."
We are living in a time of cultural hyper conflict and division. How are we to respond? In this talk, we look at the bible's guidance not just for addressing division but also for emerging stronger and healthier on the other side of it.
As humans we get comfortable when blessing comes, so much so that we are quick to forget WHO it came from. Our actions have consequences, but that consequence will NEVER be God giving up on us.
The bible says we are all being transformed into the likeness of Jesus (2 Cor 3:18). In this talk, we explore why that matters, how we can enhance the process and ultimately, why we might want to make a habit of praying 'Lord, show me your glory!'
We all want freedom. We’re born with the urge to find it and then, once we have it, to express it. It’s part of who we are. It’s our identity. But what if that freedom was not really something we can find inside ourselves, no matter how hard we search? What if freedom was really a gift, something we need to receive, from someone?
Jesus' dramatic promise that we will be truly free can often remain elusive to us. In the first of our new series 'Too Good To Be True' we define exactly what that freedom is, why we often miss it and practically what we can do to step more fully into it.
We all know we should choose the 'Hard Right' things in faith...but often we fall short. In this wonderful text we look at Paul's explanation not just of WHAT the Hard Right is in faith, but HOW we choose it and most importantly WHY we would want to choose it as well...every day!
Is it possible your faith is being eroded by the 'Spirit' of these difficult times? Like us today, the church in Colossae was experiencing the pressure of the culture around them. In this talk we see how Paul exposes the dangers of these kinds of times & reveals how we can find peace in the midst of them.
During the previous Kingdom Foundations classes we have been learning about the Goodness of God, the Faithfulness of God, His Redemptive nature and Relationship with Him. In Class 5 we see what our response as believers should be to these Foundations. We look at the importance of studying the Word of God, Prayer, Fasting, Worship and the Baptism of the Spirit.
The battle between the Flesh and the Spirit! What does Paul mean when he says in Romans 8:12 that we have an obligation? Do we have the power to fulfill this obligation or can the Spirit intercede for us? Let's examine how the death and resurrected life of Christ gives us the power to not gratify the flesh but to find life through the Spirit!
This is part TWO of our service on Sunday, August 9th. We travelled to Ephesus on our road trip with online pastor, Matt Hemsley. This part of the service is where we had a discussion about what we learned from Ephesians and the ancient world.
Join conversations like these each Sunday during our service as we unpack the message each guest speaker brings to us.
This week we travel to Ephesus, 2nd only to Rome in importance and site of one of the 7 wonders of the ancient world, the great Temple of Artemis. It must have been an overwhelming experience for the Apostle Paul to arrive in this flourishing city for the first time. And how was he supposed to carry the life and love of the crucified Christ into a wealthy, powerful city like Ephesus?
This week in Kingdom Foundations we discussed the nine Spiritual Gifts. Paul identifies these in 1 Corinthians 12:8-10, the five fold gifts of Ephesians 4 and the Fruit of the Spirit found in Galatians 5. There’s a free online spiritual gifts test where you can identify your spiritual gifts. Link available above!
This week we'll get out on the road heading to Corinth. We'll take a brief look at life in Corinth and then jump into the Ministry of Reconciliation. This will be an exiting journey that will challenge us to become "reconcilers" since we have been reconciled and are now invited to live lives of New Creation.
This week we will examine Hebrews 4 to understand why the Israelites failed to receive the promise of rest. Why did their unbelief lead to a hardening of their hearts? We will discover that in order to possess a soft heart you must be hungry for the Father!
Often times Jesus would begin a parable teaching with the words, “The Kingdom of Heaven is like...” This week our study looked at several parables in the New Testament and what Jesus said in these parables about the Foundations of the Kingdom.
The Bible invites us to trust God. It was what Israel’s prophets, like Jeremiah, constantly called the nation back to whenever they turned away from God. But what does it actually mean to trust God? Does it mean nothing will ever go wrong, nothing bad will ever happen to us? And if it doesn’t mean that, how can we really have a confident heart?
Empathy is and always has been the heart of God. The very God that decided he should come close through his son, in order to walk in our shoes and be a faithful high priest. Empathy must be the goal of the believer.
Additional Scriptures: Isaiah 58, Hebrews 2:18, Psalms 139:23-24, Luke 18:10-14
This week we complete our study in the Old Testament looking at how the Kingdom Foundations are revealed in the lives of Moses and Job. We also see how many of the Hebraic traditions are a foreshadowing of Jesus.
"Create in me a pure heart, O God..." (Psalm 51:10) is a familiar bible verse to many of us, but when you hear the verse, do you feel encouragement or conviction? As we begin our series 'Heart Matters - How's Yours', we look at what a pure heart truly means and discover how a pure heart leads us to the peace, hope and joy we all are seeking.
Many of us know the phrase 'The joy of the Lord is your strength' (Neh 8:10) but how many of us know that joy & strength in our lives? As we finish our series 'Reorient', we find out how to lay hold of them today and discover the secret to an ongoing 'Reoriented' life!
Our first class begins with us looking into the Old Testament to see what we can learn about the Foundations of the Kingdom from the creation story in Genesis and the lives of three men who walked closely with God, Abraham, Noah and Joseph.
This is our last week in our series, Reorienting Rock Solid Relationships. Al lead us through Ephesians 5:21 - 'Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.'
This week we look at Nehemiah and his response to those suffering in his community. In doing so, he clearly displays for us the heart of God. As we 'reorient' can we likewise not just 'love God' but also 'love our neighbors as ourselves' (see Matt 22:37-40).
We continued our powerful series on Reorienting For Rock Solid Relationships. In Week 2, we talked about how to deal with one of the hardest relationships. It's a relationship we all have. Watch to find out what relationship we are referring too.
As we reorient ourselves in our walk with God, we will always encounter resistance so let us consider how we should respond so that we can overcome challenges and thrive even in the midst of difficult times.
Respond to God's Holiness - Ezra 4:1-5 Respond to Resistance - Ezra 4:24-5:1-5 Respond to God's Presence - Ezra 6:16-22
Tonight we began a powerful three-week series on Reorienting Rock Solid Relationships. As we begin to come out of stay at home orders, it's great to be able to hang out with our friends and once again have in person community with one another.
But what about relationships that might be a little more difficult, like a demanding boss or a challenging co-worker or neighbor? How can we reorient to improve ALL our relationships?
This week we look at Ezra 3, where the Israelites rebuild the altar in Jerusalem. This text has profound implications because each of us is a temple for the Spirit. What does it mean for us to rebuild our own altars?, why is this the first thing we should do? and what will happen as we do?
Faith is a journey. In recent weeks however, for many of us, that journey has been interrupted & disrupted. This Vision Sunday we look at how the bible encourages us to keep recommitting ourselves to the journey & Al shares exciting plans for us to do that as a community this summer.
This week Lynsey and the band got together and lead us in an amazing time of worship. We hope you enjoy it.
Tamara speaks to us from Philippians 4 discovering why Paul said, he learned the secret to contentment! Can contentment really be learned? Or, is possible for only a select few? Tamara asked the question 'Is Christ alone sufficient for you?'
We also had some time to honor all those who have served our country this memorial day weekend.
For this midweek we were joined by Lynn Craig who oversees the Ministry Team, Intercession & Sozo Prayer here at CityChurch. We have a conversation on overcoming the devil's schemes. We dive into Ephesians 6 as we answer these questions of how to arm ourselves with the armor of God.
In this text Paul encourages us to pray about all things. I want to say a bit today about what prayer is, why it matters and how we can grow in prayer - especially in this season.
*Disclaimer: we apologize for the poor connection, we had some technical issues but it gets better once Nick gets into his talk. We hope you are able to endure for this very powerful word about prayer.
On this week's conversation on overcoming we discuss overcoming loss with guests Daynes and Matt. We explored The Five Stages of Grief: Denial, Anger, Bargaining, Depression & Acceptance.
Would you say that your Faith is more valuable to you than anything else? In this section of Philippians, Paul warns us not to settle for a faith that is anything other than of 'surpassing worth'. He tells us both what to avoid and the one thing we must do to lay hold of this extraordinary gift.
As we continue in our conversation on overcoming this midweek we talked about overcoming disconnection during this season of isolation. They each shared the hardships they have been facing and how God showed up through them. We can all be encouraged by their testimonies.
Bob & Linda join us to share about how they have been able to overcome stress over the years. After being married for 37 years they have found much comfort through the trials in a scripture they read at their wedding.
This week we will look at Paul's reminder to the Philippian Church to remember the God of comfort as they move forward in unity and humility.
This week kicks off our Wednesday midweek series on overcoming. Mike and Beth join us to have a conversation about overcoming lack of direction by looking at some key verses.
How many of us would say that joy permeates our lives?...especially right now! As we start a new series looking at the book of Philippians we explore the reasons Paul has incredible joy no matter what and we seek to be people who can do the same.
Al dives into the passage in 1 Peter as we celebrate the resurrection of Jesus this Easter! Even in times of difficulty still, praise be to the God and Father, He has given us NEW LIFE.
We ponder the question, 'What does it mean for you to lose your life for His sake?' as Al leads us through a meditation on the mystery & power of Holy Week.
On this palm Sunday Mark Landon joins us virtually and shares with us a message about Jesus from Matthew 11. First thing we are reminded of is that Jesus loves us. Click to listen to more.
We invited special guests to join Al & Niki as we tackle the topic of being courageous in our faith. Our guests Bob & Tamara share about their difficulties that they faced throughout the beginning phases of COVID-19 and how they remained courageous in their faith.
Is the peace that passes understanding (Phil 4:7) even possible in this difficult and worrying time? Al & Niki wrestle with this question and learn how to make it a reality every day. Listen to this message as they dig into how we can apply this passage to our lives.
Josh Meadows shares about how Jesus responds to danger by looking at Luke 8. COVID-19 IS a great danger, like in the passage of Luke Jesus was taking a nap during the midst of the storm. The fear of his disciples was REAL but Jesus asks, "where is your faith?" How can we take this and apply it to our own fear during danger?
Al & Niki discuss the question, how easy are you finding it to make God your refuge and strength at this time? They look at Psalm 46 and specifically where there is a verse repeated, "The Lord Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress." (v.7 & 11) We dig into to find out more about what this can mean for us. How is God working in this season of uncertainty?
Our First ever Facebook live! The world may be changing but the promises of God have not and will not change!
Who doesn't want to be thought of as being great? This week, as we continue to pursue the Kingdom of God, we ask 'what does God think it means to be great?'. Al explains the challenge, the promise and the surprising call to greatness in the Kingdom.
Jesus says that not everyone who calls him Lord will enter the Kingdom of Heaven. What does that mean for us and how can we make sure we can lay hold of the promises of the Kingdom of Heaven if calling Jesus Lord isn’t enough?
This week we start our Lenten journey in pursuit of the Kingdom of God by looking at one of the key things Jesus said we must have if we are to even enter the Kingdom. What are those things? How can we be sure we have them? & what are the implications for our lives?
This Lent we are pursing things of the kingdom. We kicked off Lent with our Ash Wednesday service where we explore the deeper meaning of Ash Wednesday. We looked at 2 Chronicles 7:14 "if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land." The main goal of repentance is dealing with our sin SO THAT we can step into revival. We hope that you tune in for this and journey with us this Lent season.
In this talk, we look at Ezekiel's vision of the River of Life. We explore not just the incredible hope that this brings us but also the call that it carries to go deeper and deeper in our faith as a response. We ask: How do we do that? and what will happen as we do?
If we want to see God move powerfully in our lives then, sooner or later we have to get real about idolatry. In this talk, we look at Ezekiel's extraordinary prophecy on this topic, we consider how idolatry impacts our lives today and we grasp the hope and power available for us in Jesus.
Worship lies at the very heart of all Jesus is doing in our church right now. In this talk, as we start a series from the book of Ezekiel, we shall therefore explore some key questions...what does lie at the heart of worship? and what does that mean for us as we seek to experience more of Jesus?
Text: Ezekiel 1:1-9, 15-18, 22-28 & 3:4-15
Exciting things are happening at CityChurch! On this, our Church birthday, Al shares a vision for the months ahead that encompasses both the exciting things that the Lord is doing and the implications that has for us as we step into it!
The goal and norm for every believer, is to be consumed with the Spirit and that the Kingdom of God becomes our ultimate reality. As a church this is where we are headed so get ready! In this talk Josh shares with us about how the Spirit being our daily communion.
Last week we explored God's call for us to make Him a priority in our lives this year. In this talk, we see this is not just about activities FOR Jesus but about relationship WITH Jesus. Looking at Psalm 23, we see the powerful shift that happens when we move from being 'wanderers' to becoming a 'dwellers'.
As we start a new year, new decade and exciting new season in the life of our church Al casts a powerful vision for the months ahead. In particular, how 'the Kingdom of heaven has come near' to us (Matt 4:17) and what we are now being called to do to lay hold of it and see it become ever more real in our midst.
John's gospel starts by saying that 'In Him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind' (John 1:4). As we celebrate the birth of Jesus we examine the life that He brings and more importantly, how we can lay hold of it for ourselves this Christmas.
On this Sunday we had our annual carol service that told the story of Luke 1:26-38 and Matt 1:18-21 in music, reflection on these scriptures and powerful video clips from the BBC show called 'The Nativity'. This all leads up to the talk you will hear her. We hope the story of Mary & Joseph mean something different this Christmas Season!
Christmas reminds us that God often does unexpected things. But how should we respond when He does? and what does it really mean to trust in God in good times as well as hard? In this talk, we reflect on what it means to respond and trust in the God of the unexpected this Christmas.
This Christmas, how should we respond to the promise of a King? In this talk, we see how Jesus was an unexpected King when He was born and is still the unexpected King today. We are invited to see the kind of King He really is and respond to Him accordingly!
Life so often steals our joy. Frequently, Christmas does the same. In this talk, we start our Christmas series looking at the biblical promise that true joy is found through the 'Great Rejoicing Reversal'. What is it? How do we engage in it? and what will the result be?
Currency always enables us to do things. In the world, that currency is money BUT in the Kingdom that currency is Faith. In this talk, we look at what that means, how we are called to use that currency and how God will move in power as a result.
We have authority in the Kingdom of Heaven! The "key" that unlocks this authority is our position in Christ. The talk this week will explain how the kingdom of God gives us full authority individually and corporately to "bind and loose" the world around us.
As we continue to explore the Kingdom of God we look at the reality and power of the gift of prophecy for today. In this talk we explain what the gift is, why we should be really interested in it and how to step into it in such a way that we too, like Ezekiel, will see dry bones come to life!
In this talk, we challenge you to explore the true nature of worship and invite you, along with the rest of the church, to 'ascend' through worship into the very presence of Jesus himself.
Jesus tells us the Kingdom of God is like treasure hidden in a field. But what is that treasure? and why is it so valuable? In this talk, we answer both questions & start our own journey to find that treasure for ourselves.
Although the Kingdom of God is a place of abundance, most of us face the reality of scarcity in our lives. In this talk, we detail how Jesus invites us to journey into His place of Kingdom abundance & especially so, when it comes to our concern for the poor.
In this talk Josh shares his passion of Isaiah 58 and a brand new way to allow the scripture to change our lives. He teaches us that sometimes the healing and breakthroughs that we have been looking for are directly tied to the people we chase after.
In this last talk in our Stress[Less] series, Al shares what the bible calls the secret of being content. This secret embraces all the previous talks in the series and presents us with an invitation to pursue Stress[Less] as a lifestyle. It's God's plan for you...do you want it?
Guest speaker Bobby Gupta continues our sermon series Stress[Less] by asking the question "How shall we live in God's Shalom Kingdom?" By knowing God, seeking His kingdom and living Kingdom values intentionally.
How do we live in Shalom if God? 1. By Living with the King holistically 2. By Prioritizing the Kingdom of God exclusively 3. By Letting the Kingdom values govern our choice completely
While Al was away speaking at River City Church in Jacksonville, FL this weekend we got the pleasure of hearing from Mark Landon. This week Mark tackles the topic of sabbath and the importance of resting.
As we start our new series'Stress [Less]', we look at God's solution for our anxiety. In this talk, we look at what that solution is, how to put it into practice in our lives and the impact it will have on us as we do!
Four months ago Pastor Al found a hawk in his study. That unlikely event prompted over 80 hours of prayer this summer for the church. In this talk, Al shares what God has been saying, the vision for this next season and an invitation to each of us that it is time to soar!!