Awakening Church

At the end of Jesus’ message, the gospel writer Matthew records the response from his listeners: “the crowds were astonished at his teaching, for he was teaching them as one who had authority, and not as their scribes.” What did Jesus say that brought the crowds to this point? How did he conclude his message? What are his final admonitions? Through two powerful pictures, Jesus will show us just how essential it is for us to not just know the teachings, but to obey them in partnership with him, our master teacher. We will see that the sermon isn’t over — nor is it correctly interpreted until it is practiced in partnership with Jesus himself. Join us as we close out our seven month journey through the Sermon on the Mount!

Along the narrow road, Jesus warns us of the voices we will hear along the way. “False prophets,” he calls them—those who beckon us off the path, work to divert our discipleship. Jesus teaches they will be difficult to recognize: people are not all that they seem. We need the help of Jesus to be able to discern the voices in our lives and how they either help or hinder our walk of faith. Join us along the road less traveled.

In the final section to the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus show us the absolute importance of practicing his words. The vision for a flourishing life has been given, but now it’s time to put it in to practice.

Through this final section, Jesus tells us the strange truth: while everyone is invited into this journey of following him, very few will take it. The access is to anyone, but the reality is that not many will go.

If we choose to follow Jesus, we should expect the way to the difficult, but also that it will lead us precisely where God wants us to go: towards a flourishing and abundant life.

Have you ever been confused with what God is doing in your life? Or what He isn’t doing? Have you ever been so desperate for Him to change your circumstances and yet things don’t go as you planned? Join us this Sunday for a special stand-alone message on the book of Habakkuk with our Communications Director, Naseem Khalili.

A.W. Tozer wrote, “What comes to our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us.” If we think correctly about God, we will live lives of peace and confidence, but if we do not think correctly about God, our life can be full of anxiety. If we think incorrectly, we will always wonder how God might act—will he punish us or comfort us? But if we think rightly about God, we will realize he is the true and good Father he says he is. In this section of the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus will teach us the relationship between peace and thinking rightly about God.

Pigs, pearls, and planks. What did Jesus mean by His profound teaching on judgment in Matthew 7:1-6? Join us this Sunday morning as our Campus Pastor, Christina, continues our “Anxious” series with a powerful message about the anxiety we have in our relationships with others in response to judgment. How should we model Jesus’ teaching as children who have been welcomed into His kingdom?

The future can be exciting, enticing, and scary all at once. Because we cannot see what will happen tomorrow, our imaginations run wild with various scenarios of how things might go. Some of us are paralyzed by the possibilities. Most of us experience some level of stress, anxiety, and worry about the future every day. Is this really how we are supposed to live? Could life with God help us with our worries about the future?

What do you value? What do you treasure? One of the ways Jesus combats anxiety in our life is by questioning what we see as most important. In America, we are bombarded with all sorts of messages that promise us a peaceful life. And yet, the things we add to our lives that we think will bring us peace only brings us more anxiety. How can changing what we value change our life?

There are moments that change the very course and direction of our lives. Some are small, some are big moments. Some are great and wonderful moments. Others are painful and difficult moments. We call these defining moments because these handful of moments end up defining the very course of one’s life. Did you know God wants to have a defining moment with you?

What do you do when you don’t know what to do? How do you pray when life is desperate? Join us as we conclude our Sacred Rhythms series as Jesus gives us a spiritual practice to engage in when you need God most.