Alabaster Group

Jesus’ parable on the lost sheep show us that God values things that most people do not. Isaac determined to live his whole life in tents and to redig old wells because he valued the promises of God made to his father more than charting his own path. Esau’s careless marriages reveal that, unlike Isaac, he never cared about his birthright, and thereby lost it beyond rescue. Jesus instructs us to not cast our pearls before swine, and neither does he. Doorways in God are only open to those who learn to cherish what he cherishes.

Luke 15; Genesis 26; Genesis 27; Genesis 28; Acts 20; Matthew 11

NYC Sunday Sermon | November 8, 2026

Because God is multifaceted, following him closely often puts us in the middle of a tension that can only be resolved when we are intentional about knowing his heart in full. Although God commended Israel for fearing his glory and keeping their distance at Mount Sinai, David dared to go beyond what the law prescribed and seek God more intimately. Keeping the ark and the tabernacle separate from each other, though risky, allowed David to always live before the presence of God. In this life, we can settle for safe piety and religion, but there is no reward for that. The reward is for those who forsake the status quo to follow God closely.

1 Chronicles 15; 1 Chronicles 16; Deuteronomy 5; Genesis 19; Proverbs 30

NYC Sunday Sermon | November 1, 2026

Some things about God can be understood theoretically, like his justice or the promise that he rewards faithfulness. But his mercy is difficult to understand unless we experience it directly. Without knowing his mercy, we tend to approach God like a boss when we’ve done well and hide from him like Adam when we haven’t. But the tax collector, the Canaanite woman, and a long list of people crying out for mercy show us that God’s mercy is especially there for us on our worst days. And so, we can lean on the mercy of the God, and let it grow in us the reflex to be moved with compassion towards the lost, the hungry, and the hurting.

Matthew 15; Luke 18; Hebrews 13; Psalm 121; Isaiah 49

NYC Sunday Sermon | October 25, 2026

There is a reason that God chose a physical mountain as his dwelling place on Earth. It is because seeking him requires intentionality, diligence, and ambition, just like climbing a mountain would. The same ambition that gets us into a good school, takes the hardest classes, and works the long hours is what carries us up the mountain of God. We don’t have to treat easy things as the will of God or assume that a hard season means he isn’t in it. Instead, we can be people who choose the hard way and delight in it, knowing that even if we fail, God will be there to catch us.

Psalm 24; Proverbs 29; Exodus 24; Matthew 14; Psalm 48

Fall Retreat Sunday Sermon | October 18, 2026

What distinguishes a slave from a king is not just what they possess but how they think. A slave operates from a place of lack; a king operates from a place of abundance. This same paradigm is also what distinguishes us from God. God often asks us to give up what feels like everything, and the reason we think his requests are unreasonable is because we don’t see ourselves as living in the abundance of who he is. These circumstances reveal how much we still think like slaves and not like kings. Even so, like Job, we can be honest about our loss, hold on to him anyway, and let him change the way we respond.

Proverbs 30; Jeremiah 32; Job 10; 2 Samuel 12

NYC Sunday Sermon | October 11, 2026

The church at Ephesus, in many regards, was Jesus' best-performing church, with hard work, endurance, and discernment, yet he warned them that he would remove their lampstand because they had lost their first love. Good works without love for him fall short, which is why God keeps his people in a place where they keep going for no reward but only love. Paul did this through beatings, shipwrecks, and anxiety over his churches. When life gets easy and people get what they want, they forget him. The thorn that never stops pricking is not a punishment but the way God keeps our love for him real across a lifetime.

Revelation 2; 2 Corinthians 11; Jeremiah 2; 1 John 4; Ezekiel 17

NYC Sunday Sermon | October 4, 2026

The narrow gate is hard to recognize because the things that actually matter rarely look impressive in the moment and the things that look impressive rarely last. David's repentance after taking a census of Israel is what led him to buy the altar at Ornan's threshing floor. That same land becomes the site of Solomon's temple and the one thing from David's entire reign still shaping the world today. We shouldn’t chase what everyone else is doing or measure our lives by what feels significant in real time. Instead, we should keep our eyes fixed on the narrow thread of God's will, since that's the only thing that holds its weight through time.

Matthew 7; 1 Chronicles 21; Proverbs 4; James 1

NYC Sunday Sermon | September 27, 2026

The parable of the weeds gives us language for some of the results that we see when doing the work of God. Not every failure in ministry is because of bad soil or bad seed. We have a real enemy in this life, and sometimes he actively works against us in ways that we cannot easily perceive. Despite effective preaching, the new believers in Iconium had their minds poisoned against Paul and Barnabas. By nature, the Gospel breeds adversity and, it is this adversity that reveals who is a brother to the Lord and who would only like to stand with him when it is convenient.

Matthew 13; Acts 14; Romans 14; Proverbs 17

NYC Sunday Sermon | September 20, 2026

Some acts of obedience are available every day of life, like prayer or giving to the poor, but others exist only in a single moment and missing it means it's gone for good. Mary’s anointing of Jesus could not have happened at any other time. Isaiah’s calling could have only started once King Uzziah died. Recognizing which moments are perpetually open and which ones are gated by a season not yet released is what allows someone to catch the will of God rather than force it.

Matthew 26; Isaiah 6; 2 Chronicles 26; Genesis 9

NYC Sunday Sermon | September 13, 2026

When reading about the paralyzed man who is lowered through the roof to Jesus, most people expect a healing, yet before anything else, Jesus says, "your sins are forgiven." Healing is easy to depict and dramatic to witness, but forgiveness is subtle and deeply personal, which is why conviction of sin is the rarer, greater gift. What every generation, every city, every person ultimately needs, more than healing or provision, is that same forgiveness, and the full conviction that makes someone finally ask for it.

Luke 5; 1 Thessalonians 1; Psalm 103

NYC Sunday Sermon | September 6, 2026