Downtown Community Church: Recent Episodes
DCCtally
Love God. Make Disciples. Be Great Neighbors. Tallahassee, FL. We meet on Sundays at 9:15am & 11:00am (In person & Online) and 8:00pm (In Person) at 231 E Palmer Ave. Learn more at downtowncommunitychurch.com
Does God indeed dwell on the Earth? How do we know where God is, or how do we find Him? Join Pastor Nate Schaidt as he reads through 1 Kings chapters 4 through 8 and teaches us more about God's character and His dwelling place.
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As the people of God, we are invited to play a role in what God is doing on the earth. But what is that role? How do we become active participants in the work of Jesus? Our College Director Grace unpacks what it is that Jesus came to do and how we now continue that work through the power of the Holy Spirit.
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Why do you go to church? Why do you go to community groups? Why do you read your Bible? The reason behind what we do is important. Whether we are in the tent of wandering or in the grandeur of the temple, our own preferences for church styles reflect more about us than about God. Drawing from both Old and New Testament passages, Pastor Ben reminds us that God’s true dwelling place is not in buildings or rituals, but in the body of believers. Whether you long for organic community or the beauty of tradition, this sermon challenges us to see ourselves as living vessels of God’s presence, called to both structure and genuine relationship within the family of faith. Join Pastor Ben as he dives deep into 1 Kings 1-8 telling the story of Israel’s journey from the tabernacle to the temple, and exploring what it reveals about how we experience and define church today.
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In today's world, it is so easy to be passive. To let bygones be bygones. What's the harm in “letting it go”? What we don't realize is that to ignore or avoid conflict or difficult issues, whether it is emotional wounds, unresolved conflicts, or personal sins, is dangerous. What we avoid often festers and eventually confronts us in more damaging ways. Join Pastor Ben as he unpacks one of the more challenging and powerful stories of David’s life, guiding us through the tragic events of Amnon, Tamar, and Absalom in 2 Samuel 13-18. The message brought to us today challenges us to bring unresolved hurts and hidden struggles to light, and how, in doing this, we can discover hope, healing, and restoration in facing what we would rather avoid. Don’t leave Absalom at the gate.
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How can we both love and fear God, and learning to build intimacy with him through that dynamic?
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The Lord made a beautiful covenant with King David that would shape the rest of redemptive history. David's response: one characterized by zeal for the presence of the Lord. Do we display this same zeal in response to the New Covenant the Lord has made with us? Join us as Youth Director, Gage Skivington, continues our Unified Kingdoms series!
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What does it mean to be the bride of Christ? What compels us to love Him in this "two become one, tethered together forever, lose myself in Him" sort of way?
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We always seem to want what someone else has. It is hard not to, we are only human. However, God made us exactly how He needed us to be. He gave us exactly what we needed to serve His kingdom. So how do we serve God’s kingdom when we don’t feel “good enough” to be His child? God created you, God wants you, God gave up His life for you, we are good enough for Him. Join Pastor Ben as he explains these struggles deeper through 1 Samuel 17.
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What does obedience look like in your life? whether it is listening to your parents or you boss, what does that look like? Now what does it look like in relation to Jesus?When God asks, we do. This is hard! We often make sacrifices in place of obedience because we think we know better. So how do we obey God? What does this biblical obedience look like? Join in as Pastor Ben Kaempfer further analyzes 1 Samuel 15 and explains what obedience can look like.
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What is the difference between seeing God as an idol or seeing God as God? Do we stop worshipping Him when He doesn’t do what we asked? This muddled line in our walks with the Lord is a hard and extremely real thing to struggle with. In 1 Samuel 4, it talks about the idolization of God's power. Join Pastor Ben Kaempfer as he continues his study of 1 Samuel and explains what this blurry line looks like while walking with Jesus.
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How do we know what the Lord sounds like? How do we even begin to listen to Him? In 1 Samuel 3, we read a story about Samuel learning how to discern God's voice. This story provides insight into how our journeys with the Lord change and grow. Join Ben Kaempfer in his study on 1 Samuel 3 and explains how we can begin to understand the Lord more clearly.
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Making Disciples. How does it work and what does it mean? Join Pastor Ben Kaempfer as he dives into Romans 14 and guides us on what making disciples is all about.
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As we go into this new school year, we are called not to just attend church and live as bystanders but to actively BE THE CHURCH as we have been set apart as sons and daughters of God. Join us for this commissioning from our College Men's Coordinator Danny Fernandez.
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How do we love God? Why do we love God? What is the meaning behind this love we have for our Savior that bleeds into our everyday lives? We love because He loved first! Without His love in us, our lives suffer. Join Pastor Ben Kaempfer in our new series, Building Blocks, as he covers 1 John 4:1-21
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The Amor of God. Helmet, shoes, breastplate, belt, sword, shield. What are these, and how do we put this armor on? What does "putting on the Armor of God" even look like? We are preparing ourselves every day for a battle against the enemy, and having the armor of God is crucial in our walk with Him. Join Pastor Ben Kaempfer as he finishes our study in Ephesians with talking through the Armor of God and what this looks like in reality.
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We all have a role in life. Whatever it is, how do we serve well in that role? Whether you are a wife, husband, mother, father, brother, or sister, employee, or employer, we all have ways to serve those around us. To put those around us ahead of us. Join Pastor Ben Kaempfer as he explains what Paul says in Ephesians about sering others well in the role we are in.
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How are we supposed to live life wisely? How are we supposed to glorify and live life for God? The only answer to these questions is in the Bible. Through scripture, we can reflect on how we have lived and how we should live. Join Ben Kaempfer as he guides us through Ephesians 5:15-21, explaining the guidelines of how we can fulfill a life wisely lived.
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Imitate God, not the world. This simple message carries a profound meaning. Paul talks about all the things that have no place in our lives, but how do we know we have sinned? To shine light on our sins can only be done by knowing God. Join Nate Schaidt as he guides us through this passage and explains what Paul is saying in Ephesians 5:1-14.
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Spiritual gifts. What is it, and how do we know what ours is? Ephesians talks about the Body of Christ and how we are designed with gifts to further His kingdom. But how does that actually work? Join Pastor Ben Kaempfer as he analyzes Scripture and explains what spiritual gifts are, according to Paul, in the Bible.
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What does it mean to encounter God? How do we seek His face? Join us as we work through Exodus 33-34 and see how understanding leads to desire which leads to expectation which ultimately leads to transformation into the image of Jesus!
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What is a spiritual gift, and how do we use it to fit into the body of Christ? We are all so uniquely mad, so how do we all fit together? Join Pastor Ben Kaempfer as he walks us through Ephesians 4:7-16 and explains what Paul says about the body of Christ and how we, as the church, fit together in unity.
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What does Paul have to say about true unity? Join our Youth Director, Gage Skivington, as we continue our series through Paul's Letter to the Ephesians.
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Join Pastor Ben Kaempfer as we continue our series through Paul's Letter to the Ephesians.
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Join Pastor Nate Schaidt as we continue our series through Paul's Letter to the Ephesians.
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Would you rather be followed out of fear or out of love? Is this how you follow God or want to follow Him? To follow the Lord out of fear is drastically different from following Him because we love Him so deeply. In fear, we act safely to avoid repercussions. In love, we act willingly. We act as servants to the Lord because we know the sacrifices Jesus made on our behalf. To be so in love with God that we only live to serve Him. So, how do we move forward from where we are? We are all in different walks of life, and that is okay. But how do we learn to love Jesus? Join Pastor Ben Kaempfer as he reads through Ephesians 2:1-10 and analyzes what this passage means for us.
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Are we just fans of God, or do we truly know Him? This line can be blurry in our daily lives, but Paul's prayer in the book of Ephesians is for us to truly know Him deeply. When we know the Lord better, we have access to Him and His power. Through Him we can do all things, and this gift alone, to be able to know God truly, is one we are not deserving of. Yet, it is given anyway. This is something to celebrate! Join Pastor Shannon Butler as he reads through Ephesians 1:15-23 and analyzes what Paul is saying about the Power of Christ that we have access to.
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We are sinners, but God made us holy. Why? The simple reason is that He loves us! He has given us His Spirit while on earth so that we may know Him more. We do not deserve this inheritance, but he gives it anyway. The Lord has promised to come back, and this is His way of making sure we know this promise will be kept. Join Pastor Ben Kaempfer as he starts our new series on Ephesians! In Ephesians 1:1-14, Pastor Ben Kaempfer guides us on how deeply this passage can affect us and why it is good news.
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It's clear James didn't simply view prayer as an important practice in the life of someone who follows Jesus, rather, he viewed it as absolutely vital. Prayer has purpose and changes things. Join Pastor Shannon Butler as he leads us through this last section of our series through the Book of James.
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It is so easy to get caught up in the comforts of this world. How do we get out of this zone when we don't need to worry about what is next? We aren't suffering. But is all we have and all we do, all for the glory of God? Instead of our mindset being 'I have to', when we love Jesus with our entire being, that changes this mindset to 'I get to'. From 'how much must I?' to 'how much can I?' Join Pastor Ben Kaempfer as he explains James 5 and the substance this passage holds regarding earthly wealth and the Bible.
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It is sometimes difficult to trust the Lord and the plans He has for us. When we know what we want, why can't we have that? Typically, the things we want are not what the Lord has in store for us. He knows our greatest desires and wants us to be happy and knows how to us get there. That why we trust Jesus. His plans for us are far greater than we could ever imagine. Join Pastor Ben Kaempfer as he teaches on James 4:11-17 and explains what this passage means.
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Leaving is hard. Change is hard. Even doing what you are called to do by Jesus is hard. So, how do we handle that well? When change is imminent and unavoidable, how can we face it head on and trust that everything will be okay? It really is easier than it seems, we trust the Lord. All He wants for us is good, he has so much in store for us that we can not begin to comprehend His plans. Sure, it is hard, but to follow Jesus does not come without sacrifice. So, in the midst of change, we trust God. When we are called to go and make disciples of all nations, we must go. Jesus has our backs and since it is in His will, all things are good. Join Pastor Ben Kaempfer as he helps us learn how to send and separate well through Acts 20.
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How can we have hope in times of mourning? This year, Easter feels heavy. We may feel desperate, lost, or even angry. We live in a broken world, and to grieve is normal and good, but we must grieve with hope. Hope that our Lord is going to take our pain away. This Easter is still a joyous celebration of the Risen King. He will take our pain away. He will wipe away every tear from every eye. He is Risen! The Easter story of our Lord is one of hope! Join Pastor Ben Kaempfer as he retells the story of the Risen King.
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In a world where we can get instant satisfaction with a click of a button it is hard to be servant-hearted. We often look to God and want him to serve us when we are meant to serve Him. For Him to build our kingdom instead of us building His. The story of Palm Sunday is a celebration of Jesus entering Jerusalem. So why were the people of Jerusalem so quick to turn on Jesus? Join Pastor Ben Kaempfer as he walks us through this story of celebration in Mark Chapter 11.
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We wrapped up our series in Jonah by looking at Jonah's heart posture in chapter 4, seeing that he was really more concerned about his own kingdom than about God's kingdom. On Palm Sunday, we saw the crowd with a similar heart posture, and when we look inward, we see that we often have the same problem. But through the death and resurrection of Jesus, we have been invited into the Kingdom that will last forever so we can lay ours down.
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In a world of temptations it is difficult to know what the Lord desires for us. We are being constantly pulled in every direction with each pull being from desire and passion. Within all of us however, we have a decision. We can feed the godly self or feed our flesh and give into the world. Tune into what Pastor William Colle offers about the beginning of James chapter 4 as he tells us the reality of what following Jesus looks like.
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When life challenges you it gives you the opportunity to seek wisdom. A word that is so robust in its meaning that it is almost overwhelming. So, what does the Bible say about wisdom? It is a popular topic in the Word but how do we go about seeking it out? Through Jesus! What Jesus tells and shows you is the wisest council you will ever need. Join Pastor Ben Kaempfer in the study of James 3:13-18 as he guides us on the wisdom we seek out in the Bible and through our peers.
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In Jonah 3, we see the Ninevites turn from their evil ways and repent, but what led them to that point? What leads us to repent from our evil ways? Only God's love, shown through His grace and His mercy and sometimes even His wrath, can truly change a heart and turn a life around.
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“Faith without deeds is dead.” This is a sobering phrase that we all can struggle with especially in our walks with Jesus. When we face life together with Jesus it is so hard to obey what the Lord wants us to do. What we can constantly take comfort in is that He is trustworthy and will use us to perform miracles. To be faithful is to love Jesus with all our hearts that our faithful deeds, or obedience, flows through us as we walk this life hand in hand with Jesus. Join our guest pastor, Pastor John Parker from Summit Church in Orlando, FL, as he talks on James 2:20-26 and help us further our understanding of God’s word.
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"So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead," (James 2:17). This verse directly addresses a key message communicated by James throughout his book, but it's one that can be so easily misunderstood. If followers of Jesus are saved by faith alone, what do our works have to do with it all? Join Nate Schaidt in our ongoing study through the Book of James as we learn about the relationship between our faith and the things we do.
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Favoritism. What is it really? We know that it is showing one person more attention than the others but how does that relate to Christians? It is a secret and constant battle that everyone struggles with. In our day to day life we show people favoritism. But why is that the topic of this sermon? Because it is a sin, a complex but real sin that every single one of us battles with. Join Pastor William Colle in our continuing study of James on chapter 2 verses 1-13 and walks us through what scripture says about favoritism.
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It is so easy to be angry. We get in traffic jams, angry, stub our toe, angry. There are so many things tat make us mad and cause us to make poor choices in this world. How can we be slow to anger and hold our tongues when there is so much malice in the world, and potentially in us? The short answer, we listen. Join us in our study of James 1:19-27, as Pastor Shannon Butler walks us through each verse and offers insight on what James is teaching us about being quick to listen.
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We all struggle in life. From anxiety to grief, we all experience a multitude of trials. It is easy for these trials to consume our lives too. To let them coerce us into temptation time and time again. Trials are a part of life, but God uses them to deepen our faith! Without trials, life would not be as sweet! When we live a life with Jesus, He will guide us through these obstacles and into a richer life with Him. Kicking off our new series James, tune into how Pastor William Colle guides us in the study of James 1:1-18 explaining what trials can bring us.
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Jump back into Jonah with us as we study chapter 2 where we see what Jonah does in his rock bottom moment and ask ourselves what WE do in a similar place. Will we cling to worthless idols or choose to accept that grace that God freely gives us?
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It is so hard to be silent nowadays. To just sit still and be quiet seems almost impossible in the busy and fast moving world we live in. But that is exactly satan wants, to make us too busy for the Lord. When we sit and be with Jesus and Jesus alone is when we can deepen our relationship with Him. The Lord will talk to you in some way! Whether it is a verse or a name or just one word, the Lord is there with you. Join Pastor Shannon Butler as he explains the importance of silence and solitude as a spiritual rhythm and steps on how we put this into practice.
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Food is a wonderful and precious thing in life. Every day, in and out, we eat to satisfy our bodies. The Lord provides, for us, amazing feasts every day alongside His many blessings in life, but what happens when we purposefully take that commodity away and fast? What even is fasting? What does it mean? These questions are some of what Pastor Shannon Butler answers in todays sermon. Join him as he reads through the story of Jehoshaphat and explains what the spiritual rhythm of fasting is, what it can do for us and how it can be done.
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As a follow up from Sundays Sermon on Sabbath, join William Colle, Grace Markwell, Nate Schaidt & Nolan Cannon as we discuss what Sabbath looks like for them in different stages of life.
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Sabbath, what is it exactly? We have heard this word over and over again in the church. The idea is neat, taking a full day of rest? How could we not like that? But what does Sabbath really look like? Yes, it is a time of rest, but not only that, it is how we can further build our relationship with Jesus. But sabbath is hard. That is the reality. To stop our busy lives on purpose is difficult, but it is worth it. Join Pastor William Colle as he studies Sabbath and guides us through the meaning and weight behind this Rhythm.
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Prayer is a foundation of the church and faith as a whole. Even though we know this, praying is hard. How do we do it? Why do we do it? If we know Jesus already has everything planned out for us, why do we pray? We pray because we depend on the Lord. He gives us the hope and comfortability to talk with Him, and gives us the steps on how to do it. Join Pastor Ben Kaempfer in his study on Matthew 6, reading and analyzing The Lord Prayer and guides to a better idea of the Rhythm of Prayer means.
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How do we know that God is with us? We all wrestle with the idea of God, and desire for his presence more. We go to immense lengths to feel the presence of Him, but question if that sensation we felt was real. But God is always with us. How do we know this? Through scripture we can see how much Jesus lives in us and how much He loves us. Join Pastor Ben Kaempfer as he studies scripture and reads just how often Jesus is with us.
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Join us for College Nights this semester as we dive into the book of Jonah! As we began in chapter 1, we saw that like Jonah, we run from God far more often than we care to admit or than we even realize. However, when we finally admit that rebellion, we'll see that God is far more merciful than we could ever imagine and that He will stop at nothing to pursue us with His love.
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There has always been a thought around God. Since the dawn of time, there have been ideas, notions, and questions about this sense of transcendence. But what is the one question we all have? What is the one thing thing that we have been searching for? His presence and how are we able to experience it. Join Pastor Ben Kaempfer in our new series, Rhythms, as he uses John 1to analyze these questions.
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Originally given in March 2023, this sermon dives into the Lord's prayer and we see how Jesus teaches us HOW to pray through the Lord's prayer. You can find the full series on our podcast.
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Why is this season so special, magical even? We get so excited to celebrate Christmas, but why? We may know the old story of Saint Nick, and we may even love him. Saint Nick was loved because he loved God and worked to serve Him. Join Pastor Ben Kaempfer in studying Luke 2 to acknowledge the true meaning behind what we celebrate and why.
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When was the last time you had so much joy, it made you want to shout? This world is full of surprises and we never know what is going to happen. But, the Lord desires to bring genuine Joy to YOU and the world! What greater joy and surprise is there than what comes from dead hearts coming alive? Join Pastor Shannon Butler as he explains the true meaning behind the classic hymn Joy To The World!
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Have you ever caught yourself spinning in circles trying to solve problems and accomplish everything? In reality, it is a hard thing that we all struggle with. Yet, this was never ours to achieve, it was solely meant for the Lord to obtain on our behalf. Join Pastor Shannon Butler as he analyzes the classic carol Hark! The Herald Angels Sing, and explains the true meaning behind what we are singing.
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We may know the lyrics to O Come O Come Emmanuel, but do we understand what we are saying? This hymn and its history is yet another sign that Lord is constantly with us, even in our rebellion. Join Pastor Ben Kaempfer he leads our study of the classic melody O Come O Come Emmanuel
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Have you ever experienced betrayal by a trusted friend or family member? While human promises may fail, rest assured that God will never let us down. The Bible assures us of God's unchanging character, which means His promises will always remain steadfast. Join Pastor Shannon Butler in Matthew 1:18-25 and Luke 2:1-20, as he highlights God's faithfulness in the lives of Mary and Joseph. Where does your faith rest?
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In the story of Gideon, he had a great start with the Lord. But, by the end of his life, he didn’t finish well. How does a successful life fall apart? How do we manage the success we experience in partnership with God without selfishly taking the glory for ourselves? Join Dylan Nielander in Judges 8 to examine the story of the once-lowly Gideon turned to a prideful ruler, ultimately ruining the positive changes the Lord had instilled in Israel through Gideon.
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What are the areas where you're asking and begging God to reassure you? Like Gideon, we constantly need confidence in what the Lord has set out for us. But, following in Gideon's footsteps, we ought to gain this reassurance through intentional prayer and communion with God. Join Pastor Shannon Butler in Judges 6:36-7:25 to dive into the story of Gideon's army overcoming the Midianites and to examine God's great reassurance.
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To do His work through you, God wants to do a work in you. Resistance often accompanies the call to action, but obedience in removing your idols is essential for progress. Join Pastor Ben Kaempfer in Judges 6:25-35 to examine Gideon's task of dismantling idols. What idols in your life need dismantling in order for you to walk in obedience to the Lord?
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We know prayer is important but what is its purpose? What does praying actually do? Join our College Womens Director, Grace Markwell, as she answers these questions and explains her two main points; Prayer changes things AROUND us through the power of God and prayer changes things WITHIN us as well.
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Welcome to Asking For A Friend, a podcast where we tackle your questions on marriage, dating, parenting, and everything in between—all from a Christian perspective! We’re William & Jul Colle. After almost 15 years of marriage, three boys, and balancing two careers—William as a pastor and Jul as a nurse (with school on top of it!)—we’re passionate about building a Christ-centered marriage and raising kids who love Jesus. Along the way, we've made our share of mistakes, but we've also been blessed by incredible mentors. Our hope for this podcast is that it encourages you, just as so many others have encouraged us.
Questions This Week:
1. I’m loosing hope in my generation of men and keep hearing “I’m not good enough for you”, “I can’t lead you” etc… what is your advice to college women going through this and question how long/ if they will ever meet someone?
2. My boyfriend and I have past sexual sins with other people before we started following the Lord & started dating. Should you discuss past sexual sins with your partner during dating, during engagement, ever?
3. My kids are all drastically different. How do you manage parenting them differently without showing favoritism?
4. Between work, kids and just life events, what are ways you can prioritize your marriage?
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When you are a child of God, there is a work that God is doing in you and through you. But we often lose sight of God and His plans for us when we get caught up in our fears, are disobedient, or will not surrender our will to His. Join Pastor Ben Kaempfer in Judges 6:1-24 to study the source of Gideon’s fear and how God is there with us every step of the way, He just needs our “yes.”
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Text in your anonymous questions to 94000!
Welcome to Asking For A Friend: A podcast where we answer your questions about marriage, dating, parenting and everything in between from a Christian perspective! We're William & Jul Colle. We've been married for almost 15 years, have 3 boys and juggle two careers as a pastor (William) and nurse (Jul,) while Jul is back in in school. We're passionate about having a Godly marriage and raising kids that grow up to love Jesus. We've learned from a lot of mistakes and have had some great examples over the years. Our prayer for this podcast is it encourages you, just like so many have encouraged us!
This Week:
1) One of the scariest things in dating for me is the waiting. People often say that the waiting is worth it, but that can be very difficult. How do I balance trusting in God's timing, knowing there is a possibility of staying single and not being disappointed in that?
2) We are often in conversation about when to give your child, teenager a phone. As parents who want to love and protect our kids while balancing their exposure to detrimental technology. How can we do this?
3) What are wise boundaries when it comes to your husband/wife having friends of the opposite sex?
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As we wrap up our Marriage series, we look at God's design for sex, and how the world trys to define it for us.
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Text in your anonymous questions to 94000!
Welcome to Asking For A Friend: A podcast where we answer your questions about marriage, dating, parenting and everything in between from a Christian perspective! We're William & Jul Colle. We've been married for almost 15 years, have 3 boys and juggle two careers as a pastor (William) and nurse (Jul,) while Jul is back in in school. We're passionate about having a Godly marriage and raising kids that grow up to love Jesus. We've learned from a lot of mistakes and have had some great examples over the years. Our prayer for this podcast is it encourages you, just like so many have encouraged us!
This Week:
1. In Sundays sermon, Ben spoke on conflict in marriage, and the common communication struggle of being heard or NOT heard by your spouse. My husband and I struggle with this, and often have unresolved conflict, but then he wants to be intimate and I am put off by not feeling heard and frankly dont want to have sex after an unresolved argument. How can we work through this?
2. We’re coming up on the holidays which is always a conflict point for me and my wife. How do you suggest we handle it?
3. We have multiple children and they are all involved in various sports and activities which often cut into family time, church time, etc. How do we let our kids be involved but also make our family and God the priority?
4. Should you make your kids go to church? Your teenagers to youth group?
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When two people come into the union of marriage, they both bring their own trauma, baggage, and woundedness into the relationship that can cause rifts in the future when these underlying issues have not been identified and addressed. So, when sore spots are hit, we try to cover them up so that they can't be hurt more. Join Pastor Ben Kaempfer in Genesis 4:1-9 to dive into the story of Cain and Abel and study how we need to allow the Holy Spirit to excavate our hearts of hardness.
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Text in your anonymous questions to 94000!
Welcome to Asking For A Friend: A podcast where we answer your questions about marriage, dating, parenting and everything in between from a Christian perspective! We're William & Jul Colle. We've been married for almost 15 years, have 3 boys and juggle two careers as a pastor (William) and nurse (Jul,) while Jul is back in in school. We're passionate about having a Godly marriage and raising kids that grow up to love Jesus. We've learned from a lot of mistakes and have had some great examples over the years. Our prayer for this podcast is it encourages you, just like so many have encouraged us!
This Week:
1. “Before “the two become one flesh” in marriage, how can you cultivate a christ-centered relationship while dating? And how do you avoid the trap of using one another as a crutch for your own walk with the Lord?”
2. What is your advice to people who have been cheated and are struggling but want to believe they’ll find a loyal, Godly partner out there one day?
3. How do you best disciple your kids? What are some actionable steps to do that?
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Communication is vitally important, but incredibly difficult. How do we control the tongue when it is the most restless of all evils? Join Pastor Ben Kaempfer in James 3:2-12 to examine the vitality of good, Godly communication in marriage.
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Text in your anonymous questions to 94000!
Welcome to Asking For A Friend: A podcast where we answer your questions about marriage, dating, parenting and everything in between from a Christian perspective! We're William & Jul Colle. We've been married for almost 15 years, have 3 boys and juggle two careers as a pastor (William) and nurse (Jul,) while Jul is back in in school. We're passionate about having a Godly marriage and raising kids that grow up to love Jesus. We've learned from a lot of mistakes and have had some great examples over the years. Our prayer for this podcast is it encourages you, just like so many have encouraged us!
This Week:
1. Does God tell you who to marry? AKA Does He tell you this is “The One?” How can you be certain?
2. What are your key tips for engaged couples as they prepare for marriage?
3. How can you keep Christ at the center of your Marriage?
What would you say to a married couple who seems to bicker/fight often?
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When there’s a gap between what we expect and what we experience, we end up feeling wronged. This also applies in marriage… if your spouse is the means by which you achieve your ideal life, you participate in functional idolatry. What would households look like if husband and wife daily asked, “I love you, how can I serve you?” Join Pastor Ben Kaempfer in John 13:35, Romans 5:6-8, and Ephesians 5:21; 31-32 to unpack the serving relationship in marriage.
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Welcome to Asking For A Friend, a podcast where we answer your questions about marriage, dating, parenting and everything in between from a Christian perspective! We're William & Jul Colle. We've been married for almost 15 years, have 3 boys and juggle two careers as a pastor (William) and nurse (Jul,) while Jul is back in in school. We're passionate about having a Godly marriage and raising kids that grow up to love Jesus. We've learned from a lot of mistakes and have had some great examples over the years. Our prayer for this podcast is it encourages you, just like so many have encouraged us!
Have a question? Text it in to 94000! Don't worry, it's anonymous:)
This week:
1. What are wise ways to prepare your marriage for parenthood?
2. How do you keep intimacy in your marriage after becoming parents?
3. Can you support your spouse who is in school full time and take care of kids? We're planning kids and are nervous we will too busy with my spouse in school for 7+ years
4. What are your thoughts on how men and women should approach dating? Specifically, the roles of men and women in initiating a dating relationship.
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The word 'love' is thrown around lot in out culture. We use the same word to say we 'love' the fall and we say that we 'love' our spouse. We often don't think about the true depth behind this word. More specifically, what the Bible calls sacrificial love. Join Pastor Shannon Butler in our study of 1 Corinthians 13:1-13 as he explains the different words used to define love in the Bible and what it looks like to live out sacrificial love.
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In our first sermon of this series, we want to address why marriage exists in the first place. Jesus didn't die for a church that was worth dying for. He didn't die for us because we were precious or clean... we were still sinners. God created marriage with the Gospel in mind. Does your picture of marriage look like the Gospel? Join Pastor Ben Kampfer in Genesis 2:21-24, Ephesians 5:21-33, and Revelation 19:6-9 to examine God's outline for marriage.
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As we examine the last part of our Fundamentals series, our aim to Make Disciples, we must be earnestly following Jesus to do so. What is the next step that God is calling you to? Join Pastor Ben Kaempfer in Matthew 28:16-20 to learn what Jesus actually meant by "make disciples" through a deep dive into the context of those words.
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At some point, every one of us has been the one that Jesus willingly and lovingly left the 99 to rescue. This should convict us to be ambassadors of Christ, searching for others who have not been saved yet because Jesus has commissioned us to make disciples. Join Pastor Ben Kaempfer in Luke 15:1-24 to study the story of the prodigal son and the radical grace and mercy he experienced.
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God commands us to love our neighbors as we love ourselves. Generally, many Christians would be able to tell you that we are commanded to do so-- but who is our neighbor? How do we love them in the way that God commands us to? Join Pastor Ben Kaempfer in Luke 10:25-37 to examine Jesus’ conversation with a Jewish religious leader about how to love those around you-- and the unfortunate fault in the man’s thinking.
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A fundamental of Christianity is that God tells us to love Him with all of our heart, soul, mind, and strength. But how many of us truly do that? Is our performance conditional to the amount of acceptance we believe we will receive from God? Join Pastor Ben Kaempfer in our study of 1 John 4:19, 9-10 to unpack how perfect love casts out all fear and what that means for us in our faith walks.
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Jesus died for YOU, regardless of your status as a Jew or as a Gentile. We are united under the Gospel of Jesus Christ, which is for everyone. However, in the early church, tensions arose when the Gentiles were serving God in a different framework than the Jews were used to. Join Pastor Ben Kaempfer in Acts 15:9-16:3 to study the simple Gospel and how it unites brothers and sisters in Christ.
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The Bible tells us over and over again that we are saved by grace through faith; it is not our own doing, but the Lord's. So why do we keep feeling like we have to do good things to be loved by God? If the Gospel feels like shackles to you, you may not fully understand it. Join Pastor Ben Kaempfer in our study of Acts 15:1-20 to examine the fact that God loves us for us, and what that means for our faith walks.
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Where in your life do you need to speak the Gospel? Encouragement is vital to our community and spiritual walk but it starts when we, as believers, model it. Join Pastor William Colle in our study of Acts 14:19-26 to study how Paul and Barnabas encouraged the early church, and how we can set the standard of encouragement.
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What are the areas in your life that you need to be unashamed of the Gospel in? How do you respond when people don't respond well to you? Join Pastor Shannon Butler in Acts 14:1-18 and the book of Romans to study Paul and Barnabas and the power of the Gospel. We are always desperately searching for meaning and purpose, but the Gospel will always be and will only be the provision we need for the thing that we're most desperate for.
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When the Gentiles were told about the message of Jesus, they worshiped and rejoiced. To the Jews, the message of Jesus was a threat to their kingdom. Join Pastor Ben Kaempfer in Acts 13:13-52 to examine how the greatest threat to our sanctification is that we push Jesus out when we feel that the kingdom we've built with our lives is threatened.
Why do followers of Christ obey God? Why do we practice spiritual disciplines? The Gospel, lived out, is attractive and intriguing enough for onlookers to want to know why those sharing it are different. Join Pastor Shannon Butler in Acts 13:1-13 to examine the never-failing mission of God and our opportunity to carry it out.
Many followers of Christ have lots of questions about the Holy Spirit, such as how the Holy Spirit speaks or His purpose. At His core, the Holy Spirit convicts us of sin, comforts us, guides us, gives us spiritual gifts and a desire to obey God, and enables us to pray and to understand God's word. Join Dylan Nielander in Acts 13:1-4 to study the Holy Spirit and how the church interacts with Him.
Last week, we established that we want to partner with God as He moves. But how do we achieve that partnership? Join Pastor Ben Kaempfer in Acts 12 to study how partnering with God begins with praying to God. What are you praying for? Are you praying prayers so bold that you may not even believe it when your prayer is answered? We hope that as you consider these questions, you will be encouraged to pursue intimacy with God through prayer.
Evangelism is the spreading of the Christian gospel by public preaching or personal witness.
How did the early church share the good news of Jesus after He left Earth? How should we think about evangelism in our culture today? Join Dylan Nielander as he opens Acts 11:19-30 and teaches on evangelism and encouragement.
Throughout the Old Testament, Scripture tells a story of one God for one people - God's chosen people, the Jews. So when He encountered a Gentile one day, it wrecked the Jewish theology. Join Pastor Ben Kaempfer as he teaches through Acts 10:1-11:18 and the first encounter of the Holy Spirit to the Gentiles.
How can we practice showing God's love to those who don't look like us?
To begin our new series Church History, its imperative that we know what is church? What did Jesus teach us about how the "church" should operate before He left Earth? Join Pastor Ben Kaempfer as he teaches on Matthew 16:13-18 and the fascinating truth about how Jesus never used the word "church" as a building but an "ekklesia."
How do we think about grace and truth in terms of ourselves? We need to never forget our need for forgiveness. Join Dylan Nielander in John 1:14-18, the Book of 1 John, and Luke 18:11-14 to study God's faithfulness to forgive and what that means for us in our walks with the Lord.
Eternal life in Christ Jesus is the free gift of God. Period. And yet, so often we try to earn our salvation, as if it's at all possible for us to do that on our own. But with God, all things are possible. What is God prompting you to let go of? What does He want you to release control of? Join Pastor Shannon Butler in our study of Mark 10:17-28 to examine the story of Jesus‘ confrontation with a rich man and how to practically apply the principles of these verses to our lives.
How do we serve our enemies? How do we serve those in sin without affirming their sin? In every context and situation, our thoughts should not be about ourselves but about how we can serve those in our vicinity. Join Pastor Ben Kaempfer in Mark 10:32-45 to study the servant-hearted Spirit that is in Jesus and is now in us, enabling us to lead well.
This is the last Sunday at DCC before the current semester ends, so we want to encourage you with a summary sermon! In a life transition, it is so easy to wish you could go back to the “good days” but God has called you to the here and now. Your season of spiritual struggle is just as formative as your season of spiritual success! Join Pastor Ben Kaempfer in Matthew 14:13-33– which is the story of Peter having doubts while walking on water with Jesus– to learn how we can apply Peter’s experience to our walks with the Lord.
Looking at almost every religion, they have rules. Generally, they're a means to an end, such as "if you ___ then you may ___." But Jesus just wants us to be His children. Join Pastor Ben Kaempfer in John 8:1-11 to examine why we can't obey and the decision Jesus made to pay the price for our disobedience.
In thinking of the woman who poured her jar of alabaster on Jesus' feet, we think of the event as an extravagant form of worship. But what led her, a prostitute with great sin (leading to greater forgiveness), to do this for Jesus? Join Pastor Ben Kaempfer in Luke 7:36-50 to examine this story from Jesus' perfect perspective of grace and truth, especially in the presence of the self-righteous Pharisees.
This week, we want to ask you: who is the person in the room that you mentally belittle because you somehow think they're more unworthy of Jesus' affection than you are? Are we in the right heart posture to be in the room with Jesus? How would you react if Jesus walked into the room?
In tough situations, we tend to favor either giving grace to others or giving truth to others. However, it's important that we balance both because they are equally important. Jesus, who is full of both grace AND truth, provides a blueprint for how to live. If we're going to look like Jesus, we need the Gospel to fully penetrate our hearts. Join Pastor Ben Kaempfer in Luke 6:43-44 and John 1:14-17 to study why grace and truth should be the overflow of our hearts.
If you don't have a God that's big enough for your questions, then you don't have a God. Jesus didn't have to roll the stone away to leave the tomb, but He did as an invitation to investigate. Faith is more than critical thinking, but it is not less than it! Join Pastor Ben Kaempfer in both John 20:1-17 and the book of Acts to examine the Resurrection story.
At the end of our By Faith series, we want to challenge you to run the race that is set before you with endurance. However, it's completely inefficient to run a marathon with a weight on your shoulders. You either take the weight off, or you stop running. Join Pastor Ben Kaempfer as we dive into Hebrews 11:37-12:2 to reflect on what it is that hold you back from running the race that God has called you to.
The Bible teaches that God provides time and time again, but times do change. However, God provides in different ways for different times. Join Dylan Nielander in our study of 1 Kings 17:1-8; 1 Kings 16:28; and John 10:27-28 to examine how the Lord our Shepherd leads his sheep, and what that means for us in our faith walks.
How can Christians speak with spiritual authority into culture? Join our guest Pastor Derrick Hayes from Engage Church as he unpacks the backstory of Moses and how it affected his spiritual authority. We are continuing through Old Testament character studies from Hebrews 11 and this week in Hebrews 11:24-26 (NLT).
So often, we wait to BECOME “that” person, when we should always BE “that” person. And you know who “that” person you're thinking of is. David and Goliath is a popular Bible story that is often portrayed as a testament of God making the impossible possible. But what if we thought about it as an encouragement to be faithful to God in the here and now? Join Pastor Ben Kaempfer in 1 Samuel 17:1-51 to dive into how David wouldn’t have been able to defeat Goliath had he not been faithful in his time as a shepherd, and what that means for us now.
When our image of ourselves is different than what God has in store for us, there is a tension that we feel that almost always reveals an idol. That idol could be the sport you play, the club you're in, or in both Gideon's context and in many of our contexts, our comfort. Join Pastor Ben Kaempfer in our study of Judges 6-7:2 to examine the way that God used Gideon's context and calling to reveal the idols in his life. What is your idol that's keeping you from your calling?
Sometimes we have to make decisions that make no sense to the world, but we know that it's what God has called us to. Moses is no stranger to this. When he left the comfort of living in Pharoah's palace that he grew up in, he was commissioned by God to be a shepherd for 40 years. Sounding crazy already? It gets crazier. We all know Moses as the man who parted the Red Sea, but it all started with him leaning into God's calling. Join Pastor William Colle in both Exodus 5:22-23; 7:1-6 and Hebrews 11: 23-30 as we dive into faith as obedience to God's word in spite of circumstances and consequences.
When we read stories in Scripture about people God used, we can put them on a pedestal or think of them as magical storybook characters. But if we think of them as unattainable it actually leaves us discouraged.
Join us as Pastor Ben demystifies these characters, to instead be attainable role models of not perfect faith but resilient faith. This will change the way we read the Bible to instead be encouraged by our incredible God!
God only has broken people to choose from. So, of course God wants to use you everyday despite your brokenness and dysfunction.
The story of Jacob and Esau fulfills the prophecy of “the older will serve the younger” because in his hungry desperation, Esau sold his inheritance to Jacob, his younger brother, for a bowl of lentils. He had a temporary appetite that needed to be satiated immediately, and we can definitely relate to this idea in that we constantly are going to temporary satisfaction found on our phones or in our relationships instead of going to God. Join Pastor Ben Kaempfer in Genesis 25:20-34 and Hebrews 12:15-17 as we examine the weakness that our appetites give us and what that means in our fight for Heaven.
Do you BELIEVE God, or do you just believe in Him? The Bible tells us that God is worthy of our trust because nothing is out of His control. He has planned everything intentionally for His glory, and has kept every single promise. Join Pastor Ben Kaempfer as we dive into Genesis 12:2-3; 15:1-20, and Jeremiah 34:18 to examine the history of the covenant God made with Abraham and Sarah and what that means for us today.
Any relationship has its ebbs and flows, typically based on the assumptions that we bring to the table. We all have assumptions in every relationship, and we tend to assume we’re right. In the book of Genesis, both Cain and Abel made a sacrifice to God, but Abel’s sacrifice had more reverence to God so He preferred it. Cain was angered by this because he had an assumption that if he did good, God owed him. This situation is not much different from the conflict that we experience while serving God, but we need to check our heart posture and our assumptions about God. Join Pastor Ben Kaempfer in Genesis 4:1-16 and Hebrews 11:1-4 as we examine what needs to change on our end in order to serve God well.
Lots of believers talk about faith but often don't really know what it means to have faith. Scripture tells us that faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance in what we do not see. But what Scripture also tells us is that faith as small as a mustard seed can move mountains. We might not have much faith, but we can use inductive reasoning to come to a spiritual conclusion. Join Pastor Ben Kaempfer in both Hebrews 10:32-39 and Hebrews 11:1-7 as we dive into how we ought to walk in faith.
As we enter into the new year, it’s important that we are all on the same page about the mission and vision of Downtown Community Church. We all have an internal tension growing in this life because we know what’s to come in the next life, but we don’t want to waste the opportunity God has given us to live by faith, not by sight! Join Pastor Ben Kaempfer as we dive into 2 Corinthians 5:1-15 to examine how we need to rely on Christ’s love to compel us to live differently in the lives God has placed us in.
The reality is that we all have a tendency to prefer the certainty of slavery over the uncertainty of faithfully trusting in God. It’s easy to look back with a positive slant on how things used to be, even when the past is as extreme as slavery to a nation. This may play out in our lives through waiting on a right romantic relationship or living with generosity. Each of these circumstances require faith that God will provide for our needs. The temptation in either situation is to seek what is certain, regardless of the parameters God sets up for how our relationships and financial dealings should be.
The message Moses gives to the people of Israel when they are in their most hopeless situation is, “The LORD will fight for you, and you have only to be silent.” We have the option to choose the uncertainty of faith over the certainty of slavery. And, all along, the truth is that faith towards God never puts us in a place of uncertainty.
The books of the Bible are intricately intertwined, both validating the Bible's trustworthiness and showing us the Lord's dominion. Throughout His life on earth, Jesus fulfilled so many prophecies about the Messiah found in the Book of Isaiah. Join Pastor William Colle as we jump between Isaiah 61:1-3 and Luke 4:16-21 to understand how Jesus fulfilled the first half of the prophecy in Isaiah and how we're living in the comma of Isaiah 61:2.
Jesus has ALREADY made a way for us to live in perfect communion with God. When we understand that our God is both strong Savior and loving Shepherd, our lives are transformed because we feel both loved and served. Join Pastor Ben Kaempfer in Isaiah 40:1-11 as we examine God's role as fully Lion and fully Lamb, and what that means for us in our walks with the Lord.
"How can a good God allow evil to exist and go unpunished?"
"Why does it feel like there's a God of wrath & judgement in the Old Testament and a God of love in the New Testament?"
These are questions we have all asked or been asked before. Join Pastor Ben Kaempfer in Isaiah 11:1-10 as he teaches how to reconcile a God of both wrath and love. Understanding the darkness prepares our hearts to more deeply believe that the arrival of Jesus is really good news.
Looking at the world, anyone can point out its flaws. Many people even ask “Where is God in all this?”
However, God never promised that we would avoid pain, suffering, or darkness. What He did promise was that He would be there with us, which is an incredible gift. Join Pastor Ben Kaempfer as we examine the gift of light that God gave to a broken world as prophesied in Isaiah 9:1-7, and what that means for us today.
So often we we follow our ways and our view of the abundant life instead of Jesus' ways. We need to realize that so long as Jesus is a threat to the kingdoms we have built, we will do our best to bury Jesus in pursuit of our desires. Join Pastor Ben Kaempfer in John 11:1-53 for the last sermon of our Signs series, to examine how Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead pointed to and glorified the Kingdom of God.
This week, we want you to ask yourself where you've kept out the King because you don't want His kingdom.
How often is calling found in comfort? That's right, not often at all. Join Pastor Derrick Hayes of Engage Church in a study of both 1 Corinthians 1:18-25 and Matthew 16:13-25 to understand how calling is related to power and wisdom, and how we ought to treat it.
This week, we challenge you to consider what ways you're padding the cross and what areas you're too comfortable in to pursue what Christ has in store for you.
The miracle of Jesus healing the blind man is often used to promote evangelism, but what would happen if we understood this sign as a heart change? Join Pastor Ben Kaempfer as we dive into John 9:1-39 to examine how we were once blind, but now we see.
What's the thing you're looking for more than Jesus? Jesus feeding the 5,000 men with two fish and five barley loaves is a popular sign He performed, but they were more focused on the miracle than the miracle worker. Listen in with Pastor Ben Kaempfer as we go through John 6:1-36 to unpack how the people wanted what Jesus could provide more than they wanted Jesus.
Following Christ, for a lot of us, has become a system of checking off boxes. However, we can’t put God in a box. Join Pastor Ben Kaempfer as he dives into John 5:10-47, the second part of the miracle of Jesus healing the paralyzed man at the pool, where we understand the sign and the implications it presents for our lives now.
We all have struggles whether they're sickness, mental illness, or strongholds. But how does Jesus walk into our mess? Join Pastor Ben Kaempfer for the first half of a lesson on John 5:1-14, where the miracle of Jesus healing a paralyzed man is dissected.
In John 4:43-54, we see a Father with a dying child who has to trust Jesus.
This story reveals what true faith in Jesus is and what trusting Him looks like! Join Pastor Ben Kaempfer as he unpacks the story and answers the often confusing question: What is faith?
What's hiding in the "cupboards" of your heart that you would feel ashamed of Jesus finding? Join Dylan Nielander in John 2: 13-25 to learn about what we need to drive out of our hearts, the temple Jesus resides in.
To follow Jesus, we want to study more of who He is & the miraculous stories recorded while He was on Earth!
Join us on this 7-week journey through John, studying seven of the miraculous "signs" Jesus performed. Let's stretch ourselves beyond these familiar stories to see Jesus' divine power! We will learn these are more than miracles but signs that point to something greater!
Join Pastor Ben Kaempfer as he teaches on John 2:1-11, the story of Jesus' first miracle!
Oftentimes we know we're willing to serve, yet there are competitors for our time and energy. Join Pastor Ben Kaempfer as he dives into servant leadership through John 13:1-17.
Many of us have the longing to reach the lost, but feel incapable, unworthy, overwhelmed, and stuck with what next steps to take. Join Pastor Ben Kaempfer as he reads Luke 19:1-10 and leaves us with two simple and practical questions.
To follow Jesus in community is not just to "have Christian friends". Scripture teaches us to "confess our sins to one another" to "carry each others burdens." Join Pastor Ben Kaempfer as he unpacks the key to authentic community and the simple steps to take to deepen relationships!
To follow Jesus in community is not just to "have Christian friends". Scripture teaches us to "confess our sins to one another" to "carry each others burdens." Join Pastor Ben Kaempfer as he unpacks the key to authentic community and the simple steps to take to deepen relationships!
Sometimes following Jesus sounds like the harder option, yet we can testify it's the only option that leads to abundant life, joy, and peace. In this new series, Made For More, Pastor Ben Kaempfer teaches that following Jesus is not just what we "should do" , we were MADE for it.
We are always craving more and more in life; material items, experiences, future dreams, etc. In the final week of Philippians, we are focusing on contentment. Join Pastor Ben Kaempfer as he unpacks Paul's encouragement on how he discovered the secret to contentment!
We tend to think the older we get, the more "freedom" we have. But we have a false idea of freedom, the abundant life involves constantly growing in maturity. Join guest speaker Pastor Derrick Hayes from Engage Church for a powerful message on maturing in our walk with Jesus!
Last week we talked about anxious thoughts. This week in Philippians, Paul gives us practical steps for how to take thoughts captive. Join Pastor Ben Kaempfer, as he gives us helpful questions to test our thoughts through!
What is joy? How can we rejoice in hard circumstances? Join Pastor Ben Kaempfer as he teaches through Philippians 4:1-7!
We all have assumptions about anxiety but let's define it! Join Pastor Ben Kaempfer as he teaches through the differences between fear, stress, and anxiety. In Philippians 4, Paul gives us practical application for what to do in anxiety!
We will all have an aim and goal in life, whether we are aware of it or not. How can Jesus be our one aim? Join Dylan Nielander as he teaches us Paul's aim and the structure of grace needed to maintain it, through Philippians 3:10-21!
Grieving is a season we will all inevitably go through, how do we sit in it alongside of Jesus?
This week our lead pastor Ben Kaempfer returned to lead the church into how to grieve. We hope this touches anyone who is experiencing loss. Many members of our church family are grieving the tragic loss of 3 year old Alani Goram. This Sunday served such a beautiful and powerful picture of the church uniting as a true family.
This week in Philippians, Paul addresses the topic of good works. Paul himself had high achievements, so what does Scripture say we do about good works? Join Executive Pastor William Colle, as he teaches about one of the greatest threats to finding our joy in Jesus alone.
Hear from our college discipleship director, Dylan Nielander as he works through Philippians 2:18-30
Pastor Shawn Maxwell from Church of Eleven22 joins us as we work through Philippians 2:1-18.
Welcome back to our Summer in Philippians! How do we advance the Gospel and what does it mean? This week our guest speaker, Shannon Butler from Calvary Chapel teaches through Philippians 1:15-30!
We may question how do we really know God? Who is He? Join us for this special message "Creating God" as we unveil our eyes to see God as He truly is instead of creating versions of Him! Our guest speaker James Barnett is the founder of Neighborly and part of our church family!
Spend some time at the end of this sermon just to sit in His Presence alone!
A Summer in Philippians! This book is slam packed with wisdom, encouragement, and challenges from Paul. We are excited to spend the Summer unpacking it together then living it out! We will also have guest speakers this Summer beginning with our Executive Pastor, William Colle.
Grab your Bible and a notebook, and join us as we open up Philippians 1:1-11!
What gets in the way from us using our positions and living on mission for Jesus? Our pride, the concentration of self. In our final week of Esther, join Pastor Ben Kaempfer as we learn what pride really is and how to live with humility.
Welcome to our 3-week study on the book of Esther! One of the major themes of this book is how to live for God when the culture is against you.
Join Pastor Ben Kaempfer as we dive into Esther 1-2, see ourselves in Esther and learn how to break free from living for man.
No matter what stage of life you are in, there is a transition into Summer. Often times a change in a routine or environment effects our spiritual walk. If you have gained spiritual momentum in this semester, how do you maintain it and continue to grow?
Join Pastor Ben Kaempfer for week 1 of our new two week series on Transitions!
When we don't see a specific prayer being answered, we may give up praying for it. We qualifying our big expectations of God so that we don't feel like He let us down. How do we pray fervently?
Join Pastor Ben Kaempfer as he finishes our prayer series with two of Jesus' parables about prayer in Luke 11:1-13 and Luke 18:1-8
Happy Easter church fam!!
Join Pastor Ben Kaempfer as he teaches through the Easter story and then through 1 Corinthians 15! If we really believe what happened on Easter is true, then it should change every aspect of our lives!
If Jesus rose from the dead, then nothing else matters. If He didn't, then nothing else matters.
Welcome to 21 Days to the Cross! To start each unit we will be releasing a podcast to help us better understand the context of what we are working through together. Enjoy!
Welcome to 21 Days to the Cross! To start each unit we will be releasing a podcast to help us better understand the context of what we are working through together. Enjoy!
If we go into prayer begging for what our flesh desires, we may walk away from prayer disappointed. But if we pray as Jesus taught us, it will orient our heart and our life to God's will. This is crucial to our discipleship to Jesus! Join Dylan Nielander as he wraps up how we ought to pray from the Lord's Prayer!
Welcome to 21 Days to the Cross! To start each unit we will be releasing a podcast to help us better understand the context of what we are working through together. Enjoy!
Welcome to 21 Days to the Cross! To start each unit we will be releasing a podcast to help us better understand the context of what we are working through together. Enjoy!
Prayer can be frustrating when we pray for a light to turn green and it does, but the cancer doesn't go away. How can we trust God when we pray for His will to be done and depend on Him? Join Ben Kaempfer as he unpacks the Lords Prayer to teach us all how to continue strengthening our prayer life.
Welcome to 21 Days to the Cross! To start each unit we will be releasing a podcast to help us better understand the context of what we are working through together. Enjoy!
Welcome to 21 Days to the Cross! To start each unit we will be releasing a podcast to help us better understand the context of what we are working through together. Enjoy!
As we enter the Easter season, we want to prepare our hearts and minds, which we do through prayer and scripture reading! While we read through "21 Days to the Cross" we will deepen our understanding of the cross through scripture. At the same time, we want to build our intimacy with the Lord in our prayer time! Join Pastor Ben Kaempfer as he teaches on practical ways to grow in intimacy that Jesus taught in the Lord's Prayer!
21 DAYS TO THE CROSS BOOK free download:
https://linktr.ee/21daystothecross
Welcome to 21 Days to the Cross! To start each unit we will be releasing a podcast to help us better understand the context of what we are working through together. Enjoy!
Starting next Monday, March 20th, we will be going through a devotional called "21 Days to the Cross." Check out why we made this devotional and why we believe it is so important for our church.
How could a good God let so many bad things happen? This weeks passage, Romans 8:18-30, says God co-exists with suffering AND calls us into it. Join Pastor Ben Kaempfer as he teaches us how to live alongside the suffering on this side of eternity.
James Barnett, founder of Neighborly, is a part of our church family!
As Christians we often focus on what we are turning from, but what are we doing for the Kingdom? How do we follow Jesus? We look like Christ! Open your heart to hear this message of how we are called to live, on this side of eternity.
"Your obedience isn't defined just by what you don't do, but by what you do for the world God so loves."
We often say "this is what I'm struggling with" but we don't know how to struggle well and fight sin. Find out the sustainable way to put to death our flesh as Pastor Ben Kaempfer preaches out of Romans 8:12-17.
Does your aspiration to be more like Jesus outweigh the mortification of your sin?
We can easily feel distanced from God at times because we think he is disappointed in us. Join us this week as Pastor Ben Kaempfer unpacks Romans 8:1-4 and how we can practically live in freedom!
"There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus!" Romans 8:1
Where are we going as a church? Join Pastor Ben Kaempfer as he shares what it would look like if we all individually took the call of living selflessly and joined together for the Kingdom of God!
Listen up if you are ready to lay down more and more self, and live more and more for the Kingdom! Each week we have built upon the fact that God is worth giving everything up for. This week Pastor Ben Kaempfer unpacks what this looks like! If you are truly following Jesus (not just a cultural Christian) you should never be asking if you should give or how much, but asking where you can give!
We long to become more and more selfless, and more like Jesus. Scripture says "Do nothing from selfish ambition" (Phil 2:3) but this feels impossible to accomplish with all of the other responsibilities we have in life. Join Pastor Ben Kaempfer as he teaches us how to live selflessly through Jesus!
Welcome to our new series Less Self as we work to live more and more selflessly each day, and give Jesus full control of our lives! This is an individual call but a team effort that we want to do together as a church family! How do we even begin this journey?
For more information on 21 Days with Jesus visit our website, app, or social media! You can find the digital copy of the booklet there!
When thinking and praying about a sermon to begin 2023 with, we were actually lead to a previous sermon given in 2019, it's from the vault! We believe the Lord has something to speak to each of us from this sermon on rest so lean in! Happy New Year church fam!
With every day comes more and more things to do, how will we ever break this cycle? God has designed the solution in the rhythm of creation! Join Dylan Nielander as he diagnoses our societal problem of "busy sickness" and offers us the cure!
We are praying over you, that you do not push back from all the ways Sabbath seems difficult or impossible, but lean into it! It will not be perfect, you may have to start with a few hours or half a day! But ANY effort is honoring to the Lord and how He created you to live!
"You won't realize how much your unrest has effected you UNTIL you experience this true rest."
The holiday season tends to bring up an array of emotions around loss. Whether it's the loss of a loved one or family member, the loss of a dream, or just absence of a relationship, emotions can be heavy. Join Pastor Ben Kaempfer as he addresses this topic and teaches how to navigate through it from examples in Scripture.
Part of the holiday season is gathering with family and friends, which can involve strained relationships, bitterness, neglect, hurt, or even abuse. Join Ben Kaempfer as he walks us through how to remove this weight this holiday season!
"Only if you have forgiven already can your motive be to correct the person for God's sake, for justice's sake, for the community's sake, and for the person's sake." -Tim Keller
The problem is we already live our lives with stress up to our neck so when life gets even busier in a season like the holidays, we drown! We have less and less time to work on our Spiritual life, we are trying to survive! Join Ben Kaempfer for our new series, this week teaching you how to practically conquer this season!
We work hard to build up things in our life to provide belonging, security or significance. But those "towers" only lead us to disappointment.
Genesis 11:1-9
John 17:20-23
"the books or the music in which we thought the beauty was located in will betray us if we trust to them; it was not in them, it only came through them, and what came through them was longing. These things - the beauty, the memory of our own past - are good images of what we really desire; but if they are mistaken for the thing itself, they turn into dumb idols, breaking the hearts of their worshippers. For they are not the thing itself; they are only the scent of a flower we have not found, the echo of a tune we have not heard, news from a country we have never yet visited." - C.S. Lewis, The Weight of Glory
- Blame the idol itself
- Blame ourselves
- Blame the world
- Realize you were created for another world
For this one off sermon, our Young Adult Director Dylan Nielander, leads us through 2 Peter 1:1-11.
"Becoming the kind of person who routinely and easily does what Jesus told us to do has generally been considered out of reach and therefore not really necessary for what we, as christians, are about" - Dallas Willard
"Grace is not opposed to effort, it is opposed to earning. Earning is an attitude. Effort is an action. Grace, you know, does not just have to do with forgiveness of sins alone" - Dallas Willard
Maybe you think God really needs you, so you can't ever be insufficient in Kingdom work. Or maybe you think you have to be sufficiently holy to even be in relationship with God. Join Pastor Ben Kaempfer as He teaches us how we can hold the truth that God does NOT need us, with the excitement that He calls and invites us to play a part in our insufficiency!
We know Jesus is the only one that can satisfy but still say "but if I can just get married, if I can just have a kid, if I could just work at that place"...and forget over and over again that nothing of this world will satisfy us. Join Pastor Ben Kaempfer as he teaches us how to practically identify what we are running to and how to truly find satisfaction in Jesus.
We know Jesus is the only one that can satisfy but still say "but if I can just get married, if I can just have a kid, if I could just work at that place"...and forget over and over again that nothing of this world will satisfy us. Join Pastor Ben Kaempfer as he teaches us how to practically identify what we are running to and how to truly find satisfaction in Jesus.
This week in our series, we had Pastor Adrian Crawford come in to teach us about our calling. If we treat Jesus as codependent, we will start to serve Him for the life we hope He gives us. Join us as we learn how our calling has everything and nothing to do with us.
A primary example of codependency is when we ask God to provide for us financially, but then we tense up and feel sick when He calls us to give our money somewhere. Join Pastor Ben Kaempfer as he teaches through Luke 12:13-34 and why we struggle to give Jesus all of our money.
If we view God as codependent, we see Him as the Giver who should be concerned with providing everything for us, and we are the Taker. When God asks us to surrender something or obey Him it becomes difficult because the flow of benefit all of a sudden isn't towards us. We often ask the question "Is what He's calling me to do really for what's best for me and putting my needs first?"
Have you ever asked "God, where are you?" when you don't see Him providing the way you wanted? Or only talk about the blessings He is giving you? This is because most of us have a codependent relationship with Him, thinking He is the "Giver" and we are the "Taker". Join Pastor Ben Kaempfer as he opens this idea of codependency.
Make Disciples: Belief to Maturity
We may be trying to read the Bible more, trying to pray more, trying to make it to community group, but how do we truly grow spiritually? Join Ben Kaempfer as he unpacks the key component for spiritual growth that most of us miss.
Make Disciples: Belief to Maturity
We may be trying to read the Bible more, trying to pray more, trying to make it to community group, but how do we truly grow spiritually? Join Ben Kaempfer as he unpacks the key component for spiritual growth that most of us miss.
Make Disciples: Unbelief to Belief We see a beautiful depiction of unbelief to belief in The Parable of the Prodigal Son (Luke 15:11–32). Join Pastor Ben Kaempfer as he offers a fresh perspective on both of the sons in the parable. Every single person can identify with this story and be convicted in different ways. Pray specifically about where you are in the parable, and what God is teaching you through this powerful message!
In Luke 10:27 Jesus says "Love your neighbor as yourself." Who is my neighbor? How am I supposed to radically love them with my busy life? Join us as Pastor Ben Kaempfer walks us through Jesus' answer to this question. Our lives will radically change if we truly comprehend how broken and in need we are and how much Jesus reached down to save us.
Be honest, do you view God as being 100% unconditional love, or as a parent who is constantly disappointed? It is extremely important that we first get this fundamental truth right, before anything else, because the way we view God will affect how we love Him in return. Join Pastor Ben Kaempfer as he walks us through the deep concept of God's love and how to love God.
We all have daily battles in this world, but are we aware that they are spiritual forces against us? If we don't remember the Devil is our enemy, then we will keep calling our neighbors our enemies. Dylan Nielander finishes our Ephesians series teaching us about the Devil, the unseen Spiritual battle, and how to fight in it! GOOD NEWS: we have the strength of the Lord on our side!
We often separate the act of going to work and going to church. We work all week, then we finally get to glorify God on Sunday. We have a sacred and secular divide in our heads that we have to break, because Jesus doesn't see a divide! This week Pastor Ben Kaempfer teaches us what Ephesians says on how to live and glorify God through your work, especially when it is difficult.
We often separate the act of going to work and going to church. We work all week, then we finally get to glorify God on Sunday. We have a sacred and secular divide in our heads that we have to break, because Jesus doesn't see a divide! This week Pastor Ben Kaempfer teaches us what Ephesians says on how to live and glorify God through your work, especially when it is difficult.
The Bible says to "Honor your parents" in Ephesians 6, but what if they have hurt you? What if they don't deserve honor? How do you forgive? Pastor Ben Kaempfer unpacks the process of forgiveness, which relates to any one who has hurt or sinned against you.
Have we come to terms with what following Jesus actually requires? Previously, Adam Voran taught on what discipleship IS, this week Dylan Nielander teaches on what it COSTS. We must not diminish or overlook what Jesus, Himself, commands us to do to follow Him. If you respond to Jesus with "Yes, but first.." you do not fully understand who Jesus is and what He has to offer. The cost is high, the reward is infinitely higher!
There's so much relationship advice in the world, but this series "How to Live" is all about dialing in and focusing on specifically how God's Word teaches us to live. Ephesians 5:21-33 is a passage that can be so easily twisted when we put it in a cultural context. Pastor Ben Kaempfer dissects it, and leaves us with very practical next steps for all of us to start implementing in our relationships right away.
Most of us put our effort and time into what is loudest in life, and not what is wisest. Paul calls us to walk in wisdom, but what does that look like? Pastor Ben Kaempfer unpacks practical steps and questions to make sure you aren't just doing what is "right" but what is "wise."
We often struggle with exposing all of the darkness in our lives because of shame. In Ephesians 5: 7-14 we learn that through Jesus we are no longer darkness, we are "children of light." How are we supposed to live out that new identity and stop hindering our light? Pastor Ben Kaempfer explains the incredible importance of exposing our darkness and 2 practical ways to do it!
Guest speaker Adam Voran, co-leader of the DCC Discipleship Group with his wife Michelle, teaches on what it means to be a disciple of Jesus. Adam takes us on a journey through scripture to help us understand what it truly means to follow Jesus, as well as helping us understand 3 things that can hold us back.
As we learn how to live, Ephesians Chapter 5 teaches us to walk in love. We learned that walking in love is glorifying God by serving and sacrificing for others. This can be hard, exhausting, or out of selfish intent so Pastor Ben Kaempfer unpacks how to do this!
Throughout Ephesians, we have learned that we are made new through Christ. This week Dylan Nielander dives into what that practically looks like for us. Paul teaches us that it is not behavior modification, putting off your old self is deeper than just changing your habits.
We've all been in a season where we aren't growing in our faith. In Ephesians 4, Paul shares how we, as the church, should live to spiritually grow. From home, school, work or hanging out with friends, we have opportunities to not just be a fan of the church, but to be the church.
In Ephesians Chapter 3 we're in a transitional point in the book. Verses 14-22 Paul is sharing how he is praying for the church of Ephesis. As we study these verses we see how the word "know" is not just a intellectual know, but an experiential know. We left asking ourselves "What is holding me back from experiencing God's love for me today?"
This week Pastor Ben Kaempfer discusses what it means to be "adopted" and "predestined" into the kingdom of God and how to live a life that is devoted and mindful of the things God has called us to.
Ephesians 1:1-14
In the story of Jacob and Esau, we see one of deceit and manipulation. For Esau, he ends up giving away his birthright for a bowl of soup. As students leave for the summer and we look at our lives, will we look back and see that we gave up our faith for things of this world?
Genesis 25:21-34
Watch on YouTube.
Happy Easter from your DCC fam! This week, Pastor Ben discusses the importance of the resurrection and what Jesus did on the cross.
"If Jesus rose from the dead, then nothing else matters. If Jesus didn't rise from the dead, then nothing else matters"
Pastor Ben Kaempfer discusses the importance of finding peace in God's will for your life. Breaking down Philippians 4:6, Pastor Ben explains how to find the peace of of God and calm anxieties through prayer, supplication, and with thanksgiving.
Philippians 4:4-7
This week Pastor Ben Kaempfer discusses the importance of seeking Biblical wisdom. He explains how to find, trust, process, and understand the many areas from which we may receive wisdom.
Proverbs 15:22
Proverbs 11:14
Proverbs 13:20
Proverbs 24:6
Acts 21:8-14
In Week One of our newest series, Pastor Ben Kaempfer discusses living in, hearing, and discerning God's will over our lives in the now.Many Christians, over the course of their lives, will ask the question "God, what is your will for my life?", and Pastor Ben explains how over the next few weeks, we will be working through the Sovereign will of God, the Perceptive will of God, and the Hidden will of God, to try and help see a clearer picture of what that may be.
Matthew 21:28-31
Psalm 143:10
1 Thessalonians 5:18
1 Peter 2;15
1 Thessalonians 4:3
Ephesians 5:15-20
March 20th: Dylan Nielander discusses being united in Christ as one body and how to overcome and think about division in the church and in our faith.
Join Ben Kaempfer and William Colle as they discuss our current cultural landscape and how it impacts the future of the church.
Hear from local Christian Artist, Elton Burgest, as he gives us a look into what being a Black Christian within the art world looks like.
DCC Patriarch Jay Colle breaks down key biblical texts that show how great things can be accomplished when we are faithful to the process, and trust God with the results.
Paige Pederson shares the scriptures and testimony that inspired her to write DCC Collective's newest single, "The Place You Found Me." Journey through the song as Paige breaks down the lyrics line by line, showing us the heart of Christ behind every word. Search "DCC Collective" on Spotify or Apple Music to listen to "The Place You Found Me," as well as past and future songs from DCC Collective.
Hear from Luke Brueggemeyer as he shares how recognizing the practice of remembering (already present in our daily lives) transforms how we live in the present and how we hope in the future.
Listen to the big plan God has for our DCC youths, as Delaney Stoner shares with us how our very first middle school group has matured from playing games at Chick-fil-A to diving head-first into the story of God.
Come and hear about a core value of your church as Dylan Nielander shares with us how the inspiration that happens on Sunday mornings is meant to lead us into the sustained life change found in weekday community.
Listen up as Jenna Gurklis breaks down a specific type of prayer found all over scripture. Here, she explains the need for prayer of this kind, while showing us a major biblical figure who was able to team up with God in this way to bring about His will on Earth.
Listen to Sofia Fernandez interview DCC Worship Team member Brenda Echeverri, as they discuss how their individual prayers (both for a growing Latina community at DCC and finding a church home in a new city) were met through each other's lives and God's faithfulness.
Meditate on Psalm 34:4 alongside our Family's Director Delaney Stoner. Listen to her dive into the life of King David, while giving us practical next steps to begin to loosen the strongholds of fear on our lives.
Listen to Malachi Hudson wonder how we can better fixate our hearts on the things of God, using the people of Israel shown in the book of Ezra as our example.
We as the modern Church tend to read the book of Acts as if it is a book of heroes, a list of unattainable feats. Reading of the miraculous stories of the early church makes us question if we really even believe that the same power that conquered the grave of Jesus is truly alive in us today. To this effect, James wrote that the great prophet Elijah was a human just like all of us. For those James was writing to and for us today, the danger of heralding those of the early church as heroes is that we think that what they did is unattainable for us, and thus we give ourselves permission not to dedicate ourselves to what the earliest church folks dedicated themselves to. And when we create a ceiling for what we think we can do, we’re actually creating a ceiling for what we believe God can do.
Acts 2:42-45 tells us exactly what the disciples dedicated themselves to, and how that led to their extraordinary outcomes. The answer is astoundingly simple: “They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers,” (Acts 2:42). The truth about the early church is that the people they were was never about who they were. It was always about who Jesus was, the process that He gifted them and the Spirit working through them. As a result of their steadfast and single-minded fidelity to this process, awe and wonder came upon every soul, and resulted in everyone selflessly putting their belongings on the line for the betterment of each other. Further, the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved (v.43-45). There is a tendency to look at the results the church had in the book of Acts and think “I could never do that. I could never be that faithful.” And you’d be right, insofar as it depended on you. But God works by His Spirit through the processes he creates for his Church. What part of the process outlined for the Church in the book of Acts is the most difficult for you?
If you are able to help out the Joshua family in any way, please give what you can by using the link below:
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Luke Brueggemeyer walks us through another one of DCC's core values, Better Not Bigger. Through using examples from the fast food world and the story of Jesus, we see how living out this value can shape the lives of our communities toward Christ.
Hear one of our group leaders, Jay Finlayson, share how God equipped him and his household to take care of the deep physical and spiritual needs of one of Tallahassee's homeless population members.
Our HOPE Director, Monica Sanchez, shares with us a story of trust between a HOPE Scholar and her newly assigned Mentor.
Do we really believe Jesus when he said it would be better that he leave Earth and send his Spirit? For most of us, it feels like the Spirit is not a mainstay in our lives. If ever, we really only experience the Spirit in worship or through the conviction of sin. While these expressions of the Spirit are nothing short of miraculous, if they are all we ever get, then who the Spirit is to us seems to be vastly different from who the Spirit was to the New Testament church.
As Jesus commissioned his disciples in Matthew 28, He told them to make disciples, to teach them all that He commanded, and that He would always be with them. From there, as we look at His ascension in Acts 1, He sends the disciples out by telling them to wait for the promised Holy Spirit. Augustine says of this moment, “You ascended before our eyes, and we turned back grieving, only to find you in our hearts.” It is clear by Jesus’ words that his presence would be with them as they accomplish his mission. We see throughout the New Testament, especially in the book of Acts, that God’s greatest promises concerning His Spirit come to those living on His mission. Perhaps the reason we don’t experience the Spirit is because we never put ourselves in need of Him. This begs the question: How engaged are you in the mission of God?
Hear Sofia Fernandez dive into Paul's letter to the Romans, unearthing the reasons why we as Christians so quickly fall into judgement, and what we can do to combat it.
Luke Brueggemeyer shares with us a story from church history, explaining to us the necessity of tapping into the lives of saints that have lived before us. Listen to the radical life of Dietrich Bonhoeffer, and one story in particular that shows how resilient community was a weapon against the evil forces of Nazism.
Our fearless leader, Ben Kaempfer, breaks down one of the nine core values that shape how we operate as a church: Spiritual Information + Practical Application.
Our Executive Pastor, William Colle, shares what the Lord has been teaching him since the recent death of his Grandfather through reflecting on a life best defined as a "long obedience in the same direction."
What would you have to do for Jesus to call you Satan? When Jesus rebuked Peter in this way, Peter was doing what he genuinely thought was right. In Matthew 16, after a series of miracles and ministry, Jesus asks the disciples who they say he is. When Peter confesses that Jesus is the Christ, the son of God (v. 16), Jesus blesses him and says that on that rock He will build His church. There is no more important question for us to answer than, “Who do you say Jesus is?”
Peter finally gets this one right, only to soon become overzealous and get reprimanded by Jesus. As Jesus is telling them how he must die and resurrect, Peter rebukes Jesus and says that he should never die! In Peter’s mind, Jesus being the true Son of God is completely incompatible with him becoming a suffering servant who would die. While this seems very reasonable for Peter, Jesus says to him “Get behind me, Satan! You are a hindrance to me. For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man.”
We face this problem ourselves when it comes to how we relate to Jesus. We often live in general deference towards Christ, while living for ourselves. We can acknowledge Jesus as Savior and even as deity, while still at our core only seeking to serve ourselves. Our culture is constantly inviting us to set our minds on the self, that our deepest source of happiness will come with our fullest sense of self-actualization. But Jesus’ call is different: “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.” This is the first mention of a cross in the book of Matthew. Jesus is inviting his disciples to come and die with him. God always calls us to carry a cross, and sometimes asks us to get on it. Pray daily this week and ask God what area of life you are prone to generally defer to Him, but you are really serving yourself.
Hear Luke Brueggemeyer, our Young Professional Discipleship Director, explain how the constant distractions of our daily lives conspire against us having a deeper relationship with our Father. Yet through practicing silent prayer, we fight back against the strongholds of constant noise and stimulation, and reclaim the action of simply "being" with God.
Kaitlyn Dressel, long-time DCC attender and art teacher at Maclay High School, tells the story of how a call to faith from five years ago led her to take the Gospel message to her workplace through starting FCA (Fellowship of Christian Athletes) at her school.
The longer you are a Christian, the easier it is for your external spirituality to exceed your inward fidelity to God. Most of us have experienced a brand of Christianity in people that displayed the externalities of holiness in a way that made us feel judged instead of loved. This sort of approach to Christianity causes us to modify our behavior in order to appear to be more “Christian.” But Jesus constantly called the Pharisees out for this sort of behavior.
In Matthew 15, Jesus confronts the Pharisees for using their written traditions selfishly to break commandments. We see this sort of selfish half-obedience in ourselves when it comes to prayer. Prayer is set apart for God, but if God answered “yes” to every single prayer you prayed last week, how many people outside of you and your family would be positively affected? In this way, we try to leverage the spiritual practice of prayer for personal gain.
Jesus turns his attention to the human heart, calling out those who perform lip service to him while their hearts are far from him (v. 8). This label of “hypocrite” that he gave the Pharisees rightly falls on us today who modify our external behavior by trying to simply do what Christians do. Jesus goes on to explain that it is what comes out of a person that defiles them. When Peter asks Jesus to explain what this means, Jesus scolds him, saying, “Are you also still without understanding?” (v.16). He finishes by explaining that what comes from the mouth proceeds from the heart (v.18). Jesus pays special attention to the heart of the people rather than external words or actions.
The longer you’re a Christian, the easier it becomes to project a sense of spirituality while your heart is hard towards God. How is your heart? At the core of intimacy with God are the disciplines of time in the Word and prayer. As we grow in intimacy towards God, we can address the internal cause of our sin rather than the external effects. Take time every day this week to pray and ask God, “Father, help me to see how my heart is today.”
Jenna Gurklis, our College Woman Discipleship Director, connects our origin story in Eden with John's first letter in the New Testament, and observes us how our sin patterns have remained relatively constant throughout time. But there is a solution, and it comes in humbly trusting in the Way of Jesus over the ways of the world.
Hear our Worship Leader, Sofia Fernandez, share a story of a local family desperately in need of mattresses, and how our church family (both locally and nationally) became the hands and feet of Christ through generously giving up what they had in order to love their community well.
Most of us have experienced the moments where we felt very called to something, but as time went on and the situation got difficult, we began to wonder if we were ever called to do this thing in the first place. This may have been expressed in your life through being initially excited about a small group only to find 6 months later that you feel overbooked, overly busy, and drained. Maybe you started volunteering somewhere and the weariness of the work has caused you to no longer feel “called” to it.
The story of Jesus walking on water speaks clearly to us as we discern how to proceed into the calling of God on our lives when things get hard and we lose all sense of sureness we used to have. After a long day of ministering to thousands alongside Jesus, the disciples find themselves in the middle of the storm. As a figure is walking towards them, they decide that it is either a ghost or Jesus. Peter shouts, “Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.” Jesus simply replies, “Come,” (v. 28-29). And this is enough for Peter, as he displays great faith by stepping out on the water. As soon as Peter leaves the boat, he is in physically the most vulnerable place he could be (as he is no longer in the boat), but, spiritually, he’s in the safest place he could possibly be (with Jesus).
But then, something happens. Peter starts to sink. All the while, the storm is raging on. When we step out in faith and expect Jesus to immediately calm the storm, we can so often be surprised by the fact that our circumstances don’t seem any easier when we respond to Jesus in faith. As Peter was sinking, he could have turned around and begun to swim back to the boat. Instead, he cries out, “Lord, save me,” (v.30). He re-declares his dependence on the Lord. This begs the question for us: where do we turn? Do we mindlessly scroll through social media? Do we turn to pornography, alcohol, or other vices in our times of distress? Do we question whether we heard God wrong when we first stepped out? Stepping out of the boat to walk to where Jesus is provides us the perfect opportunity to continually declare our dependence on Jesus.
Dylan Nielander, our College Men's Discipleship Director, reflects on how our culture of consumption is dictating our formation. Based on the "liturgies" we partake in every day, are we becoming people more or less like Christ?
Hear from our Pastoral Project Manager, Ally Frith, on how her friend's boldness in prayer opened up multiple avenues to further her intimacy with God.
Were the disciples faithful followers, or fallible failures? The answer may shock you.. We can have a visceral reaction to want to protect the character of the 12 disciples. However, a true reading of the Gospels reveals that these men failed constantly on their way to becoming faithful followers of Jesus.
In the story of Jesus feeding the five thousand, the disciples are shown to be initially very practical. When Jesus told them to feed the people, they were perplexed. They were perplexed because they knew the level of their supply was not nearly enough to fill the need. Put another way, there wasn’t enough in their cup to fill everyone else’s cup.
Andrew offered 5 small loaves and 2 small fish that were available. This created the dynamic for a very teachable moment for the disciples to experience. Simply stated, you are not responsible for filling everyone’s cup (or basket) only for pouring out what’s in yours.
Jesus then tells the disciples to have the multitude of people sit down in groups of 50. They had no idea that he was about to perform the miracles of feeding the five thousand. This meant that their preparation for the miracle was an expression of faith in Jesus' ability to do the miracle.
When we hesitate and shrink back from the call God has placed on our lives it is most often because we feel inadequate, ill-equipped, and insecure. What we learn from the disciples is that we are not responsible for filling the cups of others. Only Jesus can do that. We are, however, responsible for pouring our cup out. As Andrew offered the meager rations of bread and fish, so we may offer our cup to be poured out. In spite of everything, the disciples helped prepare the people to receive the miracle. In the same way, our faith is at work when we prepare for what Jesus is going to do. You are called to give a reason for the hope we have to others! You are never responsible for filling someone else’s cup, but you are always responsible for pouring yours out.
Hear from our families director, Delaney Stoney, on how the simple action of attending a kids soccer game impacted a relationship.
Music by @SofiaCamille.
Learn more about our "For The Future" building expansion and why we're excited to have you partner with us during this next season! Learn more at https://downtowncommunitychurch.com/forthefuture
It is very unlikely that many of us identify the idol of emotions as one of our main struggles. However, we can find this idol in ourselves when we ask questions like “Is my obedience towards God dependent on my feelings?” or “Do I follow Jesus less in a season when I feel disconnected?” In fact, for most of us, our obedience is bound to our emotions. Evidence of this fact is the self-medication of online shopping when we feel frustrated, or settling for a wrong relationship when we feel lonely. Emotions are good indicators of our need, but they turn sour when we medicate ourselves with the idol of emotions.
The correction of this is not turning around and completely ignoring our emotions. We can take immense cues from the Psalmist of Psalm 42 of how to hold our emotions in tension with relationship to God. The Psalmist admits that there is a cognitive dissonance between the way he feels and what he believes about God. In the situation of despair that the Psalmist was in, most of us either hide from God and medicate with an idol, or we simply try to use God to change our circumstances. In the end, the Psalmist resolves to hope in God. In this same way, we can resolve not to let our emotions dictate our obedience, that we may honor God by struggling in emotional prayer.
Besides just the cheesiness of doing a relationship sermon on Valentine’s Day, this sermon was originally scheduled on another day so as not to rain on the parade of everyone. Yet, here it is. Because all humans are made in the image of God, it makes sense that it is easy for us to idolize another human. To start with the bottom line, relationships were never meant to be used for the fulfillment of our needs, they were always meant to compliment us. However, when we look to the compliment to become our fulfillment it will always leave us in disappointment. The reality is that when I need someone, I’m not really loving them for them. I am objectifying them in order to fulfill my own needs. We tend to make two mistakes on this front: either we feel incomplete and look to someone else to complete us, or we believe that we actually are complete and fulfilled in and of ourselves. The message of the gospel, however, tells us something entirely different.
All of this is illustrated by the story of Jacob in Genesis 29 going to the house of his mother’s brother, Laban, in order to take a wife. While the story of Jacob’s love for Rachel can be romanticized as an extravagant story of laboring for love, it’s actually a perfect example of toxicity in relationships. Through the development of Jacob working 14 years as payment to take Leah and Rachel as his wives, Laban tricking Jacob into marrying Leah, and Leah being stuck in the trap of always feeling unloved by her husband, we see at least 3 principles that are true of someone who is pursuing a relationship out of the place of unmet needs. They will sacrifice more than is healthy, they project things onto the relationship that aren’t there, and they will miss red flags. We can break free from relationships like this when we find our worth, our satisfaction, and our fulfillment in the person and sacrifice of Jesus. And only then can we receive relationships as a compliment to who we have been made to be rather than seeking relationships as the fulfillment of who we are.
Many of us care deeply about what others think about us. Almost all (if not all) of us seek approval from at least one person. We live in an approval-seeking culture, we just call it by the inverse: “cancel culture”. Whether it be in seeking out attention and likes on social media or in simply hating to feel like we’ve let someone down, the idol of approval has the ability to crush us. As is true with almost every idol, the idol of approval is indicative of a real need. When Jesus was baptized at the beginning of his public ministry, the Spirit of God rested on him like a dove and a voice from heaven declared, “This is my son, with whom I am well pleased”, showing the reality of the Son’s approval in the eyes of the Father. At the basement of the idol of approval is the need to be valuable and acceptable. However, many of us live with a core fear and insecurity that we aren’t that acceptable. Consequently, the idol of approval trusts in people to deem us acceptable instead of God.
The prophet Jeremiah draws a dichotomy between the person who trusts in man and the person who trusts in the Lord, saying the first is like a dried shrub, and the second is like a tree planted by the water. Living as one who seeks the approval of men will never add up, because we can never know perfectly what others think of us. We can only assume how they feel about us. So we live for approval, while deep down knowing that we are not approvable.
We have all fallen short, and God knew that. He sent his Son to die for our sake, because he knew we weren’t acceptable. When we come to the realization that we are only acceptable because of Jesus' sacrifice we live our lives as a response to God’s approval, not needing it from anyone else. In fact, it’s only when we don’t need the approval of others that we can truly serve them. In an increasingly globalized and post christian world, the next decade will be defined by whether the people of God find their approval from God, or to adapt to be nice enough for everyone to approve of them. In light of all of this, is your tree one planted in the desert of others’ approval, or by the stream of God’s approval?
Whether it be assuming that our car breaks will work when we apply them, assuming that a chair will hold us when we sit down, or assuming that our friend will be on time (or late, depending on their personality), we all walk through life with a set of assumptions. More consequentially, we assume that the things at the very center of our lives will fulfill our needs. Anything that isn’t Jesus that takes our ultimate focus and attention in life is an idol. And when it comes to removing an idol from our lives, we can so often go about it without ever asking what need we were seeking to satisfy and how we can replace that idol with something that would legitimately satisfy that need.
When it comes to idols, money is likely the #1 idol of our culture, and the most sensitive to speak about. We all misuse money in different ways. Some of us are ultra-spenders, and some are ultra-savers. Some of us love paying for others in order to be noticed for it. At the heart of loving money is a longing for self-sufficiency. In Luke 12, Jesus speaks thoroughly to the ways we improperly look to money to satisfy our needs. Among other things, He tells us it is a fool’s errand to store up things for ourselves and not be rich towards God, and that our Father knows our needs. Jesus makes it clear that a love for money reveals a lack of trust in God. Because our Father takes care of all creation, we can know He will care for us. When we demonstrate fear that our needs won’t be met, we show what it is that we idolize. In the end, you will either serve God and use money, or serve money and use God.
We all have something that stands at the center of our life. Whether it be family, career, success, or comfort, there is inevitably something in our lives that is of ultimate importance to us.
And we have placed it at the center of our lives for a reason. Whether we think about it or not, we believe that whatever we center our lives around can meet the main need we have. However, we never revisit the thing that our lives revolve around and ask, “Can this fulfill me?”
The thing at the center of our life dictates our identity. For many of us, the idol of success and achievement has taken this center role in our lives. The desire for accomplishment is driven by the need to prove worth. However, as it’s been illustrated by many successful people throughout time, success always leaves you wanting more. There are needs we have that our accomplishments can’t meet. In 2 Kings 5, the story of Naaman shows us a man who has unsurmountable levels of military success, yet is helplessly reduced to be a leper. Seeing Naaman find that none of his success could heal him, but only God of Israel could, begs the question to us, “From where do I get my worth and value?”
SERMON QUESTIONS
We carry assumptions into every aspect of our life. We assume that what makes us feel good is what makes others feel good, we assume that rational people will accept our rational statements, and we even assume that acquiring more money or losing more weight would fulfill us. We carry such assumptions with us into every aspect of life, even into the sphere of our most core needs. Yet, we find ourselves still longing with our needs not met we double down on that assumption instead of changing. We seek for more relationships, more money, more acceptance from others, etc. When this happens it becomes the primary driver of our life and as such is idolatry.
We, as a culture, have hidden our idols beneath the guise of intellectuality and nuance, making it harder to recognize idolatry when it exists. An idol is something we put ahead of God that we bow down to and sacrifice for. Idolatry at other times in other contexts was very obvious (i.e. a golden calf), but now it looks more like sacrificing family to the idol of success. In unearthing what idols we may hold, one of the most helpful questions we can ask ourself is this: “What do I fear the most?” This is because more often than not, what we fear the most has become the most ultimate thing in our life. Isaiah 44:20 begs us to ask the question “is it a lie?” In other words, can this idol deliver on assumption of its promise? In Isaiah 44:6, The Lord says, “I am the first and I am the last; besides me there is no god.” In this declaration, we find the answer to every instance in idolatry as the Lord says that these things are not gods, but that He alone is God.
The story of the Exodus from Egypt is one of God raising up a leader, Moses, to lead his people out of slavery. However, as things get difficult throughout the trek between Egypt and the Promised Land, the people of Israel cry out in complaint to Moses: “You should have left us in Egypt! It was better for us in Egypt!” The reality is that there were very few things that were good about the 430 year subjugation of Israel under Egypt. So, why did Israel look back so favorably on their time in Egypt as they wandered through the wilderness?
The reality is that we all have a tendency to prefer the certainty of slavery over the uncertainty of faithfully trusting in God. It’s easy to look back with a positive slant on how things used to be, even when the past is as extreme as slavery to a nation. This may play out in our lives through waiting on a right romantic relationship or living with generosity. Each of these circumstances require faith that God will provide for our needs. The temptation in either situation is to seek what is certain, regardless of the parameters God sets up for how our relationships and financial dealings should be.
The message Moses gives to the people of Israel when they are in their most hopeless situation is, “The LORD will fight for you, and you have only to be silent.” We have the option to choose the uncertainty of faith over the certainty of slavery. And, all along, the truth is that faith towards God never puts us in a place of uncertainty.
In the same way that getting berated over leaving a bowl in the sink is a disproportionate reaction to the offense, political opinions are also prone to elicit disproportionate responses. In fact, politics are more divisive than religion. The majority of us would respectfully agree that we each have a freedom to practice religion, yet have no problem lobbing insults at the opposing political camp. Politics are so charged and provoke such strong emotional responses because they play on these two emotions: fear and hope.
Note that fear and hope are emotions, and not necessarily information. Fear can be described as the backdoor to hope, and hope is the backdoor to fear. They are intimately connected because they are both future oriented. This connection is incredibly important because at the end of the day, what we fear has the ability to control us. Jesus came to take control of our entire lives. Matthew 10 shows us how we can be rooted in this reality and trust God with it.
Jesus says he is sending his disciples out as “sheep among wolves.” He goes on to describe how we should react to all of the plainly awful things that will happen to his disciples, reminding that his disciples will face opposition because, “a disciple is not above his teacher.” In essence, Jesus says that because they persecute him, they will also persecute his followers. His advice culminates to the point where he tells the disciples not to fear those who would persecute them, but “Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell.”
Jesus is here calling us to fear the one who has more power and more responsibility over you than anything else. If a child says to his father “This other 5-year-old told me I should do this”, the Father’s response would be, “Do not fear the 5-year-old, fear your father.” Jesus calls us to ultimately place our fear and our hope in our creator. Our current political climate reveals to us that we have built our hope on a civic system rather than a resurrected savior. Thus, we as the Church can place our hope in Jesus, our fear in the Lord, turn our eyes to the God who was willing to sacrifice for us.
When Jesus walked on planet earth, his kingdom was open to everyone. With a diverse population of believers come diverse sets of beliefs and opinions. This is the tension we feel as Christians. The truth is that every political position claims a part of Jesus. Yet, we should be united as a body of believers, and, as Jesus prayed, our oneness will be our witness. Yet, where does our unity end and disagreement begin? In a diverse and polarizing world how do we actually live this out?
In the early church, the differences between Jews and Gentiles went far deeper into history and were far more all-encompassing than any division we face here in America. Romans 14 is highly instructional for how to pursue unity within a diverse church that’s filled with potential for division. We are to aggressively embrace with personal interest those in the church who think differently than us. We should do so without trying to debate or judge the person with whom we disagree. Yet, we should each be fully convinced in what we believe, and should do so in honor of the Lord. So how is that possible? How do we aggressively disagree and aggressively embrace, yet still live in unity?
The answer is simple. We fully live for God and it is God who will ultimately judge us. I don’t have to judge you, because God will...but he’ll also judge me. Our biggest concerns are our rights and being right, yet Jesus calls us to lay down our rights for our brothers and sisters righteousness. In doing so we mirror Jesus who served us not because we were right, but in light of our wrongness he still chose to die for us. The call of Jesus is to disagree totally and love each other unconditionally.
Voting season is the most polarizing time of the year in our country. While common sentiment would lead you to think that religion and politics are the two things that you should never bring up in conversation, the reality is that either the world will teach us how to think about politics or the Word of God will teach us. Politics are so divisive because we all have skin in the game. For many of us, there is a real fear of the impact that will be made based on who wins an election. When we fear loss our pride often kicks in to try and prevent that loss.
To make it more complex, both the liberal and conservative sides can pick certain Bible verses and constructs to prop up their agenda. This is why an oft used statement by both sides is, “I don’t see how you can be a Christian and vote for _______.” This begs the question, how do we act as the Church in such a politically divisive climate?
In John 17, Jesus prays over all those who will come to faith with a singular purpose: that they may be one even as the Christ and the Father are one. The reason he gives for his desire for the Church’s unity is “so that the world may believe that you have sent me.” This tells us that our oneness will be our witness to an unbelieving world. While unity like this in light of our differences may seem impossible, God calls us to it as a reflection of His love for us displayed while we were radically different from Him. A political candidate will win or lose based on how we vote on a Tuesday, the Church will win or lose based on how we love each other every day.
To this point in the book of Nehemiah, almost every outcome has come out ideally; enemies plot against Nehemiah, but they are not effective in their attempt to halt his leadership. Despite all adversity, the wall is built in 52 days. The Law is read to the people, and they repent emphatically. In verse 13, the narrative shifts a little bit as Nehemiah spends years away from Jerusalem. When he returns and the Israelites have turned away from honoring God, his reaction is to say to God, “Remember me, O my God, concerning this, and do not wipe out my good deeds.” Israel broke every religious resolution that they made before God. Somewhere along the way, their religious responsibilities lost their importance. So often for us, our story is the same: we have moments of religious fervor that give way to blatant disobedience. We get stuck in sin, even when we see time and time again how disobedience does not end well in our life or other’s. The only way from this pattern is to follow Jesus wholeheartedly, which always requires sacrifice. Religious responsibility doesn’t have the power to lead you to long term faithfulness, but only a true relationship with Jesus, This is because responsibility requires but relationship inspires.
This sermon series has been going on for 15 weeks now. While we may have gained some insight or new convictions, many of our lives look the same now as they did 15 weeks ago. How do we begin to implement God’s plan for us to influence others with our lives? Why don’t we start? Nehemiah 11 shows the slow beginnings of reinhabiting the city of Jerusalem after the wall was complete. It is apparent that it was much easier to rally people to build the wall than it was to rally people to live within the city that the wall fortified. This is because we as people get more excited about an event that has a start and end date than we are about day to day obedience. We love to build the big things, but we rarely like to live the normalcy of life in the thing God has called us to. We look for the big thing to do for God while neglecting the small moments of obedience. Because of this, we need accountability around the small steps of faith that we can easily neglect. God works mightily in the small incremental steps towards him, we just need to be comfortable starting small.
Most of us would agree that we as Christians are largely not as influential as we are called to be. As we have been working through the book of Nehemiah, we find that when we add value to those around us by meeting practical needs, it causes spiritual renewal. We know that we are called to be “in the world and not of it,” but we all lean more heavily to one side. Either we are so set apart that we are unhelpful to the world, or we are so worldly that there is no differentiation between us and those that are isolated from God. Like a snowglobe, we are not made to be like furniture that sits and collects dust, and we are not made to be played with as a toy so much that we become broken. When we create a false dichotomy between being set apart and useful to the world, we miss out on the mission of God to focus on the morals. In reality, engaging in the mission of God will cause you to live morally. In Nehemiah 10, the people pledge fidelity to God as they establish actions that will set them apart.
We often take for granted the faithfulness of God throughout the entirety of our lives. Yet, when we remember the faithfulness of God, it restores our faith in God. The Lord has shown us covenant faithfulness that is based not on our own faithfulness, but on His faithfulness. Nehemiah 9 shows a glimpse into the history of Israel, focusing particularly on God’s faithfulness standing in juxtaposition to Israel’s unfaithfulness. The root of our unfaithfulness is that we don’t listen to and we don’t remember the Lord our God. In Deuteronomy 8, Moses warns the people that they will enter into the Promised Land, gain wealth and success, and believe it’s because of their own strength and ability that they achieved it, and consequently be tempted to forget God. In other words, our pridefulness to think that we don’t need God leads us to stop listening and stop remembering. We have all failed God repeatedly, yet he has never failed us. His Gospel is that He will uphold his side of the covenant, and die in our place when we fail to uphold ours. Yet, when we remember the ways God has been faithful to us, it revives our faithfulness towards Him.
Coming face to face with our own sin is highly uncomfortable. Our most natural reaction to facing our own sin is to hide from God. In Nehemiah 8, when the people of Israel heard the law being read over them for the first time, they were deeply sorrowful. They felt this need to mourn and hide because they saw where they did not measure up. Yet, Nehemiah declared this day not to be a day of mourning, but a day holy to the Lord. He called the people to celebrate repentance. Because of the reality that God rejoices over those who repent, we, too, can experience joy in repentance. Repentance doesn’t have to lead to us hiding from God, but can become an opportunity to celebrate.
On a winding mountain road, guard rails serve to create margin between where we are and the present danger that lies over the edge. While most of us would agree that such guardrails are important on the roads, we so often live in relationships, marriages, and in our financial dealings without any guardrails in place. Worldly wisdom proves to be completely insufficient for speaking into these areas. In Nehemiah 7:1-4, Nehemiah takes proactive steps to close the gates of the city to protect it at times of the day when it is most vulnerable. For Christians, our most common response to the parts of our lives that are vulnerable is to hide. Just as Nehemiah appoints the people in the city to watch the gate, so should we appoint those in our lives who have skin in the game to act as safeguards in our lives over the places where we are most vulnerable. God calls us from wherever we start our journey to a place of holiness. It is ok to start far away from a standard of holiness, but setting up guardrails in our lives is an integral part of walking towards Jesus.
Everyone who wants to live a Godly life will experience pressure. In fact, every personal failure of ours comes about by succumbing to the pressures of life. We all come to situations that seem like they are lose-lose. Nehemiah 6 gives us an extraordinary example of how to stand under pressure. Nehemiah connects who he is to what he does. His answer to temptation is “Should a man like me do this?” This is the correct response to pressure. Pressure tests our identity, not our ability. When we give into pressure, we identify as people who crumble under pressure. When you feel you are choosing the best of 2 bad decisions, knowing your identity creates clarity. Knowing his identity kept Nehemiah committed to the mission. Nehemiah and the people completely rebuilt the wall in 52 days, and the surrounding people perceived that it was a work of God. When we know who we are, we are able to complete works that are clearly of God.
The entire purpose of this sermon is to show you the importance of getting connected into groups. The importance of community is a principle that applies to you whether you believe it or not. In Ecclesiastes 4, King Solomon teaches why it is important to be surrounded in community. Two people can work better than one can by themselves. When one person falls, it is good to have another to help them up. In a world that is exceedingly filled with projecting an idealized version of ourselves, it is exceedingly important to be deeply known by others. If our struggles are not known, we cannot correct them. If you want to grow spiritually, you must be known by others spiritually.
If you’ve ever tried to accomplish anything of significance, you are aware of our tendency to be distracted from important work. For almost everything in life, it’s easy to get distracted. If we could ever truly accomplish the most important things before anything else, it would change our lives. Nehemiah stands as an extraordinary example of refusing to be distracted, as he says, “I am doing a great work and I cannot come down,” (Neh. 6:3). We all have a great work to prioritize. The reality is that we are going to say no to something. So, why wouldn’t we pre-decide what we’re going to say no to? It may be your marriage, your schooling, your Bible reading, or anything else that is your “wall”, your “great work”. Because Jesus died for it and called us to it, we are able to say no to lesser things to say yes to the great work we have before us.
When we hear a call to justice, we are often stirred up in emotion, as we all believe that service to the marginalized and vulnerable is important. Yet, we don’t often have a sustained sense of immediacy towards such passions; we have difficulty having obedience in the same direction over a long period of time. What we find when it comes to having the right actions towards justice is that what we do is the outcome of why we do it. For Nehemiah, his reason for working toward justice was simple: it was because of the fear of God. Put differently, when we see who God is we will do as God says. Furthermore, because Nehemiah’s actions lined up with his words, he had moral authority, and people listened to him and did what he said. We should have a view of who God that leads us to obey what God says.
God’s people are called to apply pressure to places that are devoid of His justice. We are commissioned to be God’s representatives for justice on Earth.We can often use politics and other guises to hide behind the call we have to administer justice. The injustice we see in the world should bother us. In Nehemiah chapter 5, Nehemiah fights injustice by applying pressure emotionally, mentally and physically. This response changes the injustice around him. We should allow ourselves to be burdened emotionally to the point that we treat our lives as “no longer our own”, the same way Jesus did.
Most of us see other people’s needs to gain more resiliency, but can be blind to our own. We have a tendency to quit on tasks in the “messy middle” once we’ve gotten tired from the work we’ve already done, but the end is not yet in sight. In Nehemiah 4, Nehemiah models obedience in the process of building the wall while trusting God with the finished product. When we focus on the product, we gain a false sense that we are the ones in control rather than God. We are able to fully engage in obedience while remembering that the Lord controls the outcome. Because God wants relationship with us, and relationships are always about the process rather than the product, we gain resiliency by enjoying and engaging with God on a daily basis.
Influence, by definition, creates resistance. We expect resistance in order to grow in the physical realm, but are often surprised or stifled when we face spiritual opposition. In order to be successful in the face of opposition, we must be resilient. According to a 2019 Barna Research study, only 10% of 20-29 year-old confessing Christians in the U.S. are resilient disciples of Christ. The reality is that most of the resistance we face as believers is not functional opposition, but an accusation against what we are doing. When we reframe opposition, it gives us an opportunity to build resiliency. The beginning of Nehemiah chapter 4 highlights the opposition faced by the repairers of the wall and what their response was. Nehemiah models prayer and trust in God as the overseer of all opposition (Neh. 4:4-5), and the people model a response toward work regardless of the resistance (Neh.4:6). Our first step to being resilient is shedding our fear of resistance to gain a mind to work in the face of opposition.
Nehemiah Chapter 3 is a chapter that is all too often glossed over. It is mostly a list of names, gates, and sections of the wall that were repaired. However, it’s hard to overstate the significance that the people of God actually began to do the work that God called them to. We have, for far too long, lacked meaningful engagement in the work of God. In this sermon, we unearthed the reason why we often don’t engage in the work that God has called us to. In Nehemiah 3:11, there is a man named Malchijah working on the wall who was previously listed in Ezra 10. Ezra 10 tells us how men from the nation of Israel were taking foreign wives which had historically been a catalyst leading to the worship of false gods. Apparently, the problem was so wide spread it took 3 months to deal with all the marriages. What’s worse is a few who were sons of priests were listed by name, and in verse 31 Ezra documents Malchijah as being guilty of this sin.
However, Malchijah repented of this sin and didn’t let what happened in Ezra 10 keep him from who God called him to be in Nehemiah 3. Yet, we consistently let our past sin of yesterday keep us from the work that God has called us to today. For many of us, the shame of past sin is holding us back. For others, it is the current sin in our life that needs to be repented of that is keeping us from fruitfulness. In Christ, we can move from the shame of past sin into the good work God has called us to.
We often believe that influence is based on position or opinion. The person with the highest position of authority or with the most extreme opinion are often seen as the most influential. However, we gain true influence through our actions that add value to others. Nehemiah models how to influence others by acting in a way that adds value to others.
There’s a dichotomy that every influencer has to face, we must be patient and prayerful, but not passive. People who excel at patience also tend to be passive. Conversely, people who aren’t passive also tend to not be patient. In scripture God often gives a burden or calling in a way that requires patience before action. Yet, when the patient person is called to action or the action person is called to patience, they both feel the same thing…tension. We want to resolve the tension, but the tension is good. When we resolve the tension too quickly, we lose something. For the patient person it might be we dismiss it and never act. For the action person it may be jumping in without a plan and without a dependence on God. When we manage the dichotomy of being patient but not passive it creates an opportunistic dependency which is the bedrock of uncommon influence.
We are, as Christians, called to be influencers in our culture and our world. But how do we define influence? If society's influence is defined by the impressiveness of who is influencing, how does Jesus define it?
With this series, Uncommon Influencers, we will break down the book of Nehemiah to learn what Scripture tells us influence looks like.
In week two of our “Broke” series, we dismantle the “when I get _____, then I’ll _____” assumption, and learn what Jesus taught us about how we should manage what we’re given right NOW.
In the kickoff to our series called “Broke,” we ask the question, “What is it about money makes us love it so much?” Jesus gives us the answers why, and shows us why we’re meant to search for these things in Him, and not wealth.
With everything going on this week, we felt like it was an appropriate time to update you on how our church is responding to COVID-19, what meeting online looks like for us and how we as Christians should handle anxiety during this difficult time.
For more information please visit our website HERE.
As we take a Sunday to be with our friends and family, William and Ben discuss our Core Values. What makes DCC, DCC.
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I’m processing past hurts with men in counseling and unsure if dating is a good idea right now?
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Is mental illness a physical event with spiritual side effects or a spiritual event with physical side effects?
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How do you rebuild your faith after you’ve lost it because of mental illness?
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How can I let go of the anger I feel toward God for giving me a mental illness?
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On Sunday you started to talk about Kanye…What are your thoughts on his new Jesus is King album?
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I’d love to hear you talk about addiction & how to overcome it?
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What do we do when depression sets and there is nothing to look forward to? What if the only things helping you feel better or “normal” are destructive, but a short fix?
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What are healthy boundaries for opposite sex friendships within a marriage relationship?
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How can I help a friend who insists that their anxiety is just part of who they are, like a personality trait?
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Do people who commit suicide to go hell?
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How can we send Lindsey gift cards to lululemon and other favorite stores?
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What are some mental health issues to look for that we don’t categorize as mental health?
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How to be diligent in mundane work when you just want to be focused on the kingdom?How do you live into your calling? Like truly, wholly live into it?
1 Samuel 15:7-23
Questions to ask yourself:
1. Is there something from my past that I'm minimizing or avoiding?
2. Am I minimizing or avoiding because of the thought that 'other people have it worse than me?'
3. Is there an event or relationship from my past that effects me today?
4. Are there things I avoid or that make me uncomfortable because of something that has happened before?
5. Are there things in my future that make me fearful as a result of my past?
Lead Pastor Ben Kaempfer discusses our upcoming series on mental health, mental illness and how it intersects with our faith in Jesus. Join us Sundays at 8:15, 9:30 or 11:00 for week 1.
Exodus 3:1-12
"Your ability to do the work of God doesn't depend on you, but on the ability of the one who is with you"
"What would you do if you knew God was with you?"
Luke 11:1-13
"The natural unplanned flow of spiritual life sinks to the lowest ebb of vitality" - John Piper
We're excited to share with you a special podcast as we interview Amy Boland from the 61 Exchange about the upcoming Boldly Women's Conference! Ladies, make sure you sign up here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/boldly-tickets-55579546921
Guest Speaker: Stuart Owens
Isaish 9:1-7
John 14:3
Matthew 24:26-27
Acts 24:15
2 Peter 3:11
Psalm 7:11
Psalm 16:11
2 Peter 3:9
2 Corinthians 5:20
Divorce and Remarriage: Four Christian Views
- I loved learning about how husbands can love and serve their wives and other women well, can you talk a little more about how and in what ways wives are called to love and serve their husbands (or just women loving and serving men as well)
- How do you know if you should do a long distance relationship? What are some tips to having a successful long distance relationship?
- How can I not become intimidated/insecure by my partner’s past struggles with lust/purity?
- How do I handle being jealous and distrustful (for no real reason) in my next relationship?
- Can you expand on some of the application of today’s sermon?
- How do I be open up about my past relationships/sexual sin with the person I’m now dating?
- When it comes to guys trying not to lust after women, how much responsibility lies on the guy and how much on the girl?
- How do you tell real feelings from lust?
Q1: What should I be focused on in a season of singleness? Q2: How do you decipher between flaws and red flags? Q3: What is the kind of effort a woman should be putting into a pursuit? Does she/can she pursue? Q4: Thoughts on online dating? Q5: What are some practical ways to keep Jesus at the center of your relationship?
Each week during our "In My Feelings" series we'll be answering your questions on relationships! To ask questions message us on Instagram at "DCCtally" or email questions@dcctally.com
Genesis 1:27-28 Matthew 28:18-20 Guest speaker Adrian Crawford from Engage Church of Tallahassee.
Guest Speaker: Ryan Sprague. Ryan is the CEO of the PHI center (pregnancy health and information). PHI is one of our longest ministry partners through Project Tallahassee. To learn more about PHI please visit phicenter.org
Guest Speaker: Grant Taylor
Psalm 37:4 – Desires of our heart Matthew 21:28-32 - Parable Matthew 15:8 – Honoring God with our hearts John 6:40, 1 Thessalonians 4:3, Psalm 143:10, Psalm 40:8 – The will of God Deuteronomy 29:29 – Secret things of God Matthew 6:25-34, James 4:13-15 – Worrying about tomorrow
Guest Speaker: Grant Taylor Galatians 5:16-24 Romans 5:1 Romans 12:18 Philippians 4:7 Colossians 1:19-22
Guest Speaker: Dave Harvey, executive director of the sojourn network and amicalled.com. Acts 20:17-25
We are called to serve others, not out of our own efforts, but through the love of God to the glory of God.
We all have grown up with different opinions on what baptism represents. One this weeks series of "Traditions" we discuss the covenant of baptism and why we're called to be a part.
We were blessed to have Reggie Hutchins, pastor of Unity Baptist join us. 2 Corinthians 4:1-6
Further reforms. This week we will talk about how there is always more to do, because we always have a pull towards disobedience. As much as Nehemiah had done and as far as they had come there was still more work to be done. This anticlimactic end to the book reminds us that the work of God is never complete and will always be more left to do. This leaves us with a humble understanding that we are to steward the work of God for our given time.
Nehemiah Chapter 10 Covenant confirmation. The people respond to God’s work, God’s law, their sin, with a declaration to God.
Guest Speaker: Roshad Thomas. "Now What?" Nehemiah 8:1-18 These next few weeks will deal with our response to God’s work. The wall is complete, people are appointed and they respond by reading of the law. This week will emphasize the significance, impact, and vitality of God’s word
Nehemiah Chapter 6 Nehemiah faces the last attempts of his enemies as they try to distract him from the walls God has called him to build. Nehemiah responds with clarity and focus…”I am doing a great work so that I cannot come down from the wall.” Often times what is critical to accomplishing what God has called you to is knowing what to say no to.
Nehemiah 5 Confronting the inner turmoil. One of the most effective ways for Satan to stop building the outer walls is to cause strife and division inside the walls. Nehemiah chose to confront the blatant issues that were threatening this work of God.
Nehemiah 4:10-23 As the heat and outside pressure builds Nehemiah responds to possible physical threats with an extraordinary balance of pragmatism and spiritual dependence. Often times the most spiritual thing you can do, is the most practical thing you can do.
We take a break from Nehemiah to hear from Billy Graham Chaplin and Tallahassee native, Pastor Kelly Burke.
Nehemiah 4:1-9 Anything worth doing will receive opposition. The next several weeks will outline how Nehemiah faced and dealt with opposition. This first week is dealing with the opposition of naysayers.
Nehemiah 2:9-20. Planning and inspection. Once Nehemiah went through a season of waiting and prayer and now had the backing of both God and the king, his first step was to learn. Great problems are solved and great callings are realized when we learn before we respond.
Nehemiah's first act is a season of waiting and prayer. Nehemiah uses this season of waiting and prayer to discern his calling and to pray for his anointing.
What breaks your heart? Make sure you grab a devotional book to follow along with us or download the PDF version here: http://static1.squarespace.com/static/5683e35c7086d7c3bf5ba814/t/572b43914c2f8564c382cf5a/1462453140113/nehemiah+book+.pdf
What does it look like to come to an adult starting point with your faith? This week we look at the foundation of our faith, the resurrection of Jesus
What if you only had 24 hours to live? During this series we look at the last 24 hours of Jesus' life and what he calls us to do.
This week we took a look at the early church and why discipleship and groups are so important to our christian walk.
This week we take a look at passover and how it represents the coming of Christ to cover our sins
We look at the story of Gideon from Judges 6 and how God often calls us to something bigger than we can handle.
Take a look back at all that God has done at DCC in 2015 as well as look forward to 2016. Get excited for the launch of our 731 campaign!
We've all been in a situation where life doesn't turn out the way we expected. This week’s sermon is about how Joseph's faithfulness led to a much bigger blessing.
Pastor Adrian Crawford from Engage church shares with us the importance of not wasting our time in order to further the Gospel.
Make sure you check out our video interview that was played before this talk. It can be found here: https://vimeo.com/143647115.
Grant Taylor shares with us on using our time, talents, and resources to future the kingdom of God.
Pastor Ben Kaempfer shares some of the indispensable pieces of our relationship with Christ.
This summer we'll be going through the book of Psalms. Each week we'll go through one psalm but make sure you also join us through out the week with our reading plan which is found at downtowncommunitychurch.com
Our youth pastor Will Potts shares what drove the disciples to share the gospel following the resurrection
Ben Kaempfer leads us through the start of our new series Everyday Radical. We will be going through the Book of Philippians throughout this series.
This week our pastor Ben Kaempfer spoke at Engage Tallahassee. The pastor of Engage, Adrian Crawford, spoke at DCC. His sermon "The Walking Dead" is about the resurrection of Lazarus and its applicability to our daily lives.
Ben Kaempfer leads us through the fifth and final week of our series, The Head and the Heart.
Ben Kaempfer leads us through the fourth week of our The Head and the Heart Series. This week he will be talking about the conflict between head and heart over Relationships.
Guest speaker Micah Andrews leads us through the third week of our series, The Head and the Heart. This week we will be learning about the constant battle between our heads and our hearts over how to spend money. We would love for you to join us Sundays at 11:00am or 5:00pm at 464 FAMU Way. If you can't make it, please enjoy this podcast.
Ben Kaempfer leads through the second week or our series "The Head and the Heart." The main topic of this week's sermon is Time. Specifically we generally know how we ought to spend our time, but choose to spend it in somewhat irresponsible ways because our heart tells us to. Please listen and enjoy.
Ben Kaempfer leads us through the first week of our new series "The Head and the Heart.'' This series is all about the sometimes dangerous difference between what our head tells us we ought to do and what we feel in our heart we ought to do. We would love for you to join us in person on Sunday at 11:00am or 5:00pm. If you can't make it feel free to listen here and stay caught up.
Ben Kaempfer leads us through the fourth and final week of our Defining Character series.
Ben Kaempfer continues to lead us through our character study of David in our Defining Character series. This week he covers one of David's greatest indiscretions, and tells us what it means for our lives.
Our good friend Shannon Butler was nice enough to fill in for Ben while he was out of town.
Ben Kaempfer leads us through chapter 3 of the Book of Colossians. This episode was recorded on 10/26/14.
Ben Kaempfer leads us through chapter 2 of the Book of Colossians. This is the second week of our study through the Book of Colossians.
Our pastor Ben Kaempfer leads us through the first week of our study of the Book of Colossians.
Our good friend Will Potts shares what his life story and what he believes God is calling him to for our city.