Antioch Waco

This message launched a new series on revival and reformation, calling believers to live with hearts fully surrendered to Jesus and empowered by the Holy Spirit to bring God's Kingdom into every sphere of society. The sermon featured a testimony from Rick Tullis, demonstrating how one person's commitment to living out their faith in business and community leadership has helped transform Waco over the past 30 years.

This message is a powerful reminder that God is actively working through His people as witnesses who share the Gospel in both word and deed. It emphasizes that our calling as ambassadors of Christ is dependent on the Holy Spirit’s power to be lived out effectively in our local communities, our nation and throughout the world.

These testimonies from our people serve three purposes:

to encourage faith

Pastor Jimmy continued the series on the calling of Abraham and the life we were made for by focusing on God's promise to Abraham in Genesis 12:1-3, specifically examining what it means when God says "I will make you a great nation, I will bless you, I will make your name great, and so you shall be a blessing." This message built on last week's teaching about Abraham's call to leave his country, relatives, and father's house to enter God's promised land of fruitfulness.

The heart of this sermon centers on understanding biblical greatness versus worldly greatness. While the world defines greatness through self-made success, celebrity status, wealth, and external recognition, Jesus redefines greatness as serving others. Drawing from Mark 10:35-45, Pastor Jimmy emphasized that "whoever wishes to become great among you shall be your servant." This servant-hearted greatness flows from understanding our identity as God's children - we are blessed, chosen, redeemed, and part of God's eternal purpose.

This message launches a three-week series on Abraham's life, focusing specifically on God's call to Abraham in Genesis 12:1-3 and how that connects to His calling on our lives today.

Pastor Jimmy shared how his family's story became intertwined with God's purposes through Baylor University and Waco, illustrating that none of us are here by chance but by God's divine hand. The central theme of the message emphasizes that God has a specific story and purpose for each of our lives, just as He did for Abraham.

To enter into God's story for our lives, we must follow Abraham's example of letting go to lay hold. God called Abraham to leave three specific things: his country (representing worldliness and sin), his relatives (unhealthy relationships that don't support spiritual growth), and his father's house (dependency on others' faith rather than owning personal faith).

This sermon wraps up our House to House series and focuses on the often-overlooked but essential quality of faithfulness in Christian leadership, particularly within Acts 2 communities and Lifegroups.

Pastor Carl Gulley begins by honoring the life group and section leaders who faithfully serve week after week, comparing them to the lesser-known biblical figures like Nympha, Apphia, and Archippus who opened their homes for church gatherings. These individuals may not be household names, but they are forever inscribed in Scripture because the church Jesus is building relies not on the talents of a few, but on the sacrifices of the many.

The sermon explores how spiritual leadership differs from worldly leadership, emphasizing that it requires different qualifications and operates by eternal rules. Using 1 Peter 5:1-4, Pastor Carl highlighted that spiritual leaders should shepherd God's flock willingly, not for personal gain, but as examples to others. The reward for such faithful service is not earthly recognition, but a crown of glory that will never fade away when the Chief Shepherd appears. This eternal perspective motivated the early church and should motivate believers today.

In this message, Pastor Sean Jones shares a personal message about the transformative power of prioritizing God's will through Lifegroup participation. Drawing from his experience as a father of five, he emphasized that true leadership begins with following Jesus and that Lifegroups are training grounds for developing our calling to lead others to Christ. Sean challenged the common tendency to drop "the things of God" when life gets overwhelming, instead calling us to fight for what matters most eternally rather than settling for temporary comfort or convenience.

The heart of the message centered on Jesus' words in Matthew 16 about denying ourselves, taking up our cross, and following Him. Sean illustrated this principle through the powerful truth: "Don't give up what you want most for what you want now." Using a visual demonstration, he showed how we must release our grip on the life we're clinging to in order to receive the abundant life God has for us. This requires intentional choices to prioritize God's presence and will over the patterns and pressures of this world.

Pastor Sean concluded by sharing a beautiful letter from his daughter Megan, who reflected on how her parents' commitment to Life Group attendance throughout her childhood profoundly shaped her faith and continues to influence her marriage today. Her testimony powerfully demonstrated that when we prioritize the things of God, especially in community, it creates a legacy that impacts generations.

Lifegroups aren't just another activity to fit into our schedules- they're essential spaces where we learn to follow Jesus, develop leadership skills, and experience the kingdom of God in ways that transform both us and the world around us.

Pastor Vincent Carpenter shared his personal testimony of transformation from having a "passionate disdain for church" to making a lifelong commitment to the people of God. His encounter with God came through witnessing the authentic life of his Sunday school teacher, who demonstrated passionate love for Jesus and cross-cultural ministry. This divine encounter set him on a trajectory that led to his current calling in pastoral ministry.

The message focused on Acts 2:42-47, which describes the early church community that emerged after Pentecost. Pastor Vincent emphasized that God invites us not into buildings or meetings, but into a network of transforming relationships called community. These relationships lead to mission - becoming "missional communities" where lives are transformed and people are equipped to transform others.

In this teaching, Pastor Jimmy Seibert delivered a powerful message about experiencing God's presence in our everyday lives through"house to house" communities. The central theme focused on the truth that God is present with us wherever we gather in His name - whether in personal worship, small groups, corporate gatherings, or in our daily activities.

Jimmy traces the historical journey of God's presence from Adam and Eve walking with God in the garden, through the tabernacle with Moses, David's restoration of worship, Solomon's temple, and ultimately to the New Testament reality where because of Jesus we become the dwelling place of God through the Holy Spirit. This progression shows God's relentless pursuit to be present with His people despite sin and brokenness.

The heart of the message centers on Acts 2:42-47, particularly the phrase "everyone kept feeling a sense of awe." Pastor Jimmy emphasizes that this awe wasn't produced by great leadership or programs, but by acknowledging God's presence when believers gathered together.

In part two of our House to House series, Pastor Jeff Abshire focuses on the importance of Christian community and the biblical commands that govern our relationships with one another. Jeff uses the analogy of GPS navigation to illustrate that while we receive clear "what" commands from Scripture about Christian relationships, we also need the proper "how" - the environment of love - to successfully live them out.

Pastor Carl Gulley opens this new series on "House to House" living by challenging both our personality preferences and our resistance to authentic community.

This teaching identifies three key barriers that keep us from authentic Christian community: