Citygate Ministries: Recent Episodes
Citygate Ministries
Listen to Pastor David Pleasant as he passionately illuminates God's word and applies it directly to our lives.
How busy are you? Without even a thought it seemed like at the last bite of turkey our lives start feeling busier with the pressure of Christmas. Gifts to buy and crowds to fight. Is December 25th going to be a holiday or a Holy Day to acknowledge the birth of the Messiah the Savior of the World?
We are now in the holiday season and for many it’s the most wonderful time of the year but for others it’s a struggle and a battle to survive the chaos of the holidays. Follow Pastor David as we look at a passage that tells the story of a man that had a battle going on under the surface.
For the last three weeks we have been studying the subject of worship. Pastor Alex talked about acceptable worship and Amy spoke about the importance of the worshiper to call upon the name of the Lord to pierce the darkness. Pastor David is going to teach about the correct appropriation of worship and what happens when our focus is God centered!
Enter His gates with Thanksgiving, and His courts with praise! Psalm 100:4
Listen to Pastor Alex preach about biblical worship in our second installment of our Extravagant Worship series.
This week, Pastor David is starting a new series on the subject of Extravagant Worship. We want to learn what the Bible says about this subject and then we want to put into practice worship both here corporately with the hope it will continue privately because worship is not a one day event. Worship is not a spectator sport but a vital part of a believers life.
One of the first times Jesus teaches his disciples concerning the subject of the harvest He spoke these words in John 4.
31Meanwhile the disciples were urging him, saying, “Rabbi, eat.” 32But he said to them, “I have food to eat that you do not know about.” 33So the disciples said to one another, “Has anyone brought him something to eat?” 34Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to accomplish his work. 35Do you not say, ‘There are yet four months, then comes the harvest’? Look, I tell you, lift up your eyes, and see that the fields are white for harvest. 36Already the one who reaps is receiving wages and gathering fruit for eternal life, so that sower and reaper may rejoice together. 37For here the saying holds true, ‘One sows and another reaps.’ 38I sent you to reap that for which you did not labor. Others have labored, and you have entered into their labor.”(John 4:31-38ESV)
Last week we studied the process of the harvest. How God plants a seed and that seed turns into stalks, and that stalk produces fruit in due time. In this episode, Pastor David want to teach a few passages when Jesus spoke about a harvest and what He saw concerning the harvest.
We all know that God is like a farmer that planted a seed to fulfill the purpose of redemption. He puts the seed in the life of a man named Abram that would later become Abraham. Abraham would cut a covenant of faith with God and God promised to make him the father of many nations. This promise was made to a man that was 75 with no children. Also in that promise was another promise that God would bless the world through this covenant.
In this episode, Pastor David wants to teach us about the process of the harvest, especially in conjunction with the gift of salvation. Last week was the potential of the seed! Potential, potential, potential; this week it’s process, process, process.
They don’t put a picture of all the hard work required to produce a harvest on the seed package. They give you a picture of the potential outcome. This picture of the potential grabs the heart of the farmer and the hope in the potential of the seed motivates the man to do the work required. He values the seed and the work begins. He is willing to tear some stuff up and change the landscape, he is willing to fight the battle with weeds and bugs, he is willing to have faith for the rain and patient enough to wait til maturity not satisfied with temporary increase but protects all the way to harvest. Pastor David wants to talk to us about the power of the seed and its connection to harvest.
Jesus begins a new way of teaching in his ministry. He starts teaching through parables. A parable is putting something alongside something else to better understand it, the placing of one thing alongside another so that a comparison can be made. What Jesus did was put a story alongside a spiritual truth to make it better understood. In this episode, we are challenged to seek the Lord on what type of soil does our heart represent of the four soils described in this parable.
For the past two Sundays we have tackled the subject of forgiveness and what the Bible says about what it is and what it is not. Today, Pastor David, is going to address how to outlive your past and learn to forgive yourself.
Last week Pastor David started diving into the subject of forgiveness and we ended by talking about What Forgiveness Is but today he is going to discuss What Forgiveness Is Not.
This week in our You Asked For It Series, Pastor David is starting on a two week study on Forgiveness. This is a big subject that affects everyone in this room. None are exempt from their life being touched by the need of forgiveness or the need to forgive.
Last week we talked about our original operating system that was driven by flesh, rooted in sin, self centered life but through the power of the cross we have now been given a new operating system driven by the Holy Spirit, rooted in Christ, God centered life.
We want to start the study of flesh vs. spirit and spend a couple weeks seeing what the Word of God says about the subject and the ongoing struggle that all of us deal with concerning this subject.
Our small groups have always been kind of an accessory that was valued but only mentioned during the couple weeks as an announcement during sign ups but today it’s worthy of an entire sermon. Pastor David wants to express through scripture everyone's need for someone.
Last week we studied how the Bible addressed fear and it declared that perfect love could defeat fear. We saw how God being with us and His love is the origin of perfect love, we don’t have to be afraid we are never alone. That was how God revealed Himself to Joshua as he was taking on the responsibilities of leadership. We learned that strength and courage could position you for success but to sustain success the Word of God was foundational and necessary.
Did you know that the Bible mentions the subject of fear 350 times and 70 times it tells us specifically not to be afraid?
Pastor David is going to help find some answers and applications in scripture for the subject of fear. Fear is something that everyone has to deal with in one time or another in their life. Some conquer the enemy of fear and others become debilitated by it.
Pastor Matt is going to preach about the invisible need for cultural unity in the church.
The Bible shows us that God is continually merging cultures and people to worship him together as one body of believers, as one church, as the bride of Christ; reflecting his glory through all people of the world.
Join Pastor David as he discusses the subject of faith and how it exists in the realm of the invisible.
Have you ever noticed God seems to use invisible people to do extraordinary things? Have you ever noticed that God will start an assignment for you that looks one way only to reveal that it is only the first step but you thought it was the whole assignment? Let’s learn this morning about what God can do with invisible people.
Do you feel overlooked? Take comfort in that before David was a great king, he felt invisible after his father overlooked and discredited him because he was a young shephard boy. As people saw a young shepherd boy, God saw a mighty king and a man after his own heart.
Last week we celebrated Father’s Day and talked about the hats a dad has to wear and how the men of Citygate do such a great job wearing those hats. Today we want to bounce back into the invisible series and talk about the difference between hiding and invisibility.
Father's Day is a day that is set aside to honor fatherhood and it needs to have the highest honor. The world is in decline and many of its problems are attributed to absent fathers. But that is not the case at a place called Citygate. We have a very present and visible fatherhood/manhood on display. The fathers at Citygate come in all sizes and colors, we are men that are dependable and reliable.
Have you ever felt invisible? Have you ever felt overlooked? Today, Pastor David, is starting a new series that deals with the challenges of feeling invisible.
Last week we talked about being fully alive in faith with the story of the three teenagers and a fiery furnace. They stood up with their faith in who God was not just what He could do. Today, Pastor David, is going to talk about being fully alive after failure and the need for the Words of God and the enablement of the Holy Spirit.
For the last two weeks we have studied being fully alive in love, joy, and peace provided by the enablement of the Holy Spirit. Today, we are going to study how to be fully alive in faith.
Pastor David continues in his teaching series "Fully Alive" with part 2 of "Love, Joy, Peace".
Last week we studied the facts that you don’t have to wait until heaven to have Jesus. We come to the knowledge we are sons and daughters, the majority of the battle is in our minds, we have the blessing of grace for adjustments, and we don’t have to run this race alone we have God the Holy Spirit with us. Today, let’s learn more about God the Holy Spirit and being Fully Alive.
Last Sunday we celebrated the resurrection of Jesus. Jesus did not just go from dead to barely alive but rather became fully alive to conquer death and the grave. Now, what does it mean to be a Fully Alive Christian?
Today is a day that changed human history, the day God put on skin and was not only willing to die a martyrs death but had the power to get up from the dead and conquer the grave. This is not the first time Jesus faced death but every time He did the same thing happened, life faced death and life won. So let’s celebrate the power of resurrection; because He is fully alive we can also be fully alive.
We are going to talk about the last week of Jesus’s earthly ministry. We are going to study the ups and downs of the week and the start of the ultimate victory of life conquering death. We struggle to relate to God the Father; He is Sovereign, Omnipotent, Omniscient, He lacks nothing!! But Jesus is God in the flesh; He is tempted, disappointed, hurt, and wounded all things we have experienced and can relate to.
Last week we studied a woman at a well that got an invitation to drink from water that would quench the thirsting of her soul. She not only excepted the invitation but went and extended the invitation to the whole city and they came to drink. One of the goals of fishing is to have a wonderful experience around a table.
Last week we started a new teaching series called "Gone Fishing." The series deals with the power of invitation and the call to be fishers of men. We are going to once again see Jesus fishing for people, the power of His invitation and how they find themselves fishing (inviting) others to meet the one that gave them the invitation.
God has always been good at inviting people no one would think he would invite. He invites people that are not perfect, seem to be under-qualified, but courageous enough to except His invitation.
This week, Pastor David wants to talk to you about The Power of Invitation.
Pastor David concludes the last pillar in our Vision Series. He talks about being on mission together and what that means in our everyday life.
We are not a church with a missions program, we are a group of Jesus followers that give our lives to be on and continue the mission of God in our world.
Why do we need community?
Why do some people refuse community and others embrace it?
God made us with a desire to be connected to people. Listen to Pastor Alex as he dives into our pillar on Courageous Community.
We completed the pillar of worship, learning that the greatest act of worship is to demonstrate an emptied out obedient life. Jesus being our greatest example of taking off His sovereignty and taking on the form of man to die, being obedient even to the death of a cross. We learned that in that position of obedience God will shake the earth. This week, Pastor David talks about one of the essentials of our walk with God. That is the pillar of faith.
Last week, Pastor David started our study of worship that focused on private moments of worship that produce close proximity and whispers from God. Join us this week as he teaches us what happens when private worship goes public.
Last Sunday, we studied the pillar of deliberate discipleship and how important it is to move in our faith journey passed being a believer to a follower or disciple of Jesus. This week, Pastor David will be discussing the pillar of Extravagant Worship.
"There is a big difference between a believer and a follower in Christ. All of us start as a believer, very few it seems find the path to living or following Christ into actions. Commitment requires action!"
This week Pastor David discusses what happens after a person becomes Radically Redeemed. Salvation is the beginning of the race and discipleship is what happens during the race on your way to the finish line.
Last week was Vision Sunday and Pastor David shared the course that Citygate would navigate for 2019. Part of that navigation was building on a firm foundation of 6 Pillars that make up the Spiritual DNA of Citygate and today we are going to detail out the pillar of Radical Redemption.
We have been preparing our hearts and minds for three weeks to see what God has in store for us in 2019. We have worked on our blind spots and are ready to see!
Pastor David Pleasant laid out the vision of the church for this year, with the day appropriately called "Vision Sunday." This year of 2019 is both going to be filled with excitement and change as Citygate navigates toward our future.
As we continue in a series on vision, Guest Speaker Stephen Johnson communicates that Jesus, the light of the world, displays his works to the world by opening the eyes of the blind.
Pastor David examines a blind man in Mark 9:46-56 and reveals what the scriptures testify is the key to true vision.
As we embark on a series on vision, the foundation is set that before a person can see clearly, one has to correct his blindspots. Pastor David leads us through a moment of self-examination through personal testimony to discover where the eyes of our hearts have become darkened and our corneas hardened.
Sometimes there come moments in our lives are potential opportunities, doors that God opens. Discover how to discern when the opportunity is from the Lord and how to walk through the door He has opened.
There are three specific doors that the scripture tells us the enemy uses to lure and trap us. Find out if those doors are open in your life and how to close them.
If you are in a moment of crisis, listen to Pastor David teach us how break free from the chains of bondage.
Perhaps Joseph's pit moment lasted longer than a few hours before he was sold into slavery. Perhaps, like Joseph, you have had a pit moment that has imprisoned you for too long. Allow this message of hope to bring deliverance in areas that you need the victory Christ to overcome.
If you have been in the midst of a battle of temptation, listen as Amy teaches on Joseph and the moment of temptation that nearly robbed him of his purpose.
God's promises never fail. Allow your heart to be stirred and encouraged as you listen to Pastor David's first message on Joseph.
Jose Diaz returns to his roots to preach the gospel and stir our hearts for global missions and prayer.
Pastor David dives in and tackles our purpose within and for missions on and around our campus.
Genesis continues on, and this week we talk about the children of Isaac in Jacob and Esau
As the Genesis series continues Pastor David talks about Abraham and the covenant between him and God.
This week Pastor David continues in the Genesis series, and talking about Noah building the Ark.
As we continue into the Genesis series, Pastor David covers 3 chapters from Genesis 4-6 in discussing the contagious nature of sin in humanity.
As we continue in Genesis, Pastor David and C.J. Scerbo team up to discuss the fall of man in the Garden of Eden, and how the fall took place.
We are kicking off a series studying the book of Genesis. As we started this series we started with what Genesis began with, Creation.
The weekend before the Fourth of July, Americans prepare to celebrate our freedoms, and Pastor David preaches out of John, the meaning of being "free indeed."
Pastor David, and the kids from VBS took over the service, and man was it a great service! Pastor David preaches on how to get into the presence with the King.
Pastor Tom Sterbens is in town for Fathers Day and has a word, for not only fathers, but for sons, and anyone who wants to understand the redeeming properties of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
Pastor David brings a message in the second part of the Kings and Kingdoms series in Matthew 13, and the parables regarding the kingdom of Heaven.