The Israelites have moved back to Jerusalem after decades of exile, and things are complicated. They have a commission to rebuild, but how does one rebuild when there is so much grief? When those we left with did not return with us? When some of us have never been to the place called “home” before? Maybe a religious ritual will help.

Our worship series for this fall is called Homecoming: Stories of Return. We’re looking at all sorts of stories of return in Scripture: parables, history, Jesus stories, church stories, and poetry. What does it mean to return home? We’ll be looking at how complicated returning home can be when home is no longer what we remembered or perhaps not even there anymore. We’ll be imagining home as a place we make rather than a place we travel to, and we’ll be discovering that returning is a group endeavor. This series will culminate with the dedication of our repaired building, our own return.

Find us on social media: Facebook and Instagram. Or, contact us through our website: www.azlechristianchurch.org. To contribute financially to the ongoing ministry of Azle Christian Church, you can give on our website or find us on Venmo (@Azle-ChristianChurch).

Paul goes looking for a synagogue, and instead finds a group of women worshiping by the river. Lydia holds church like she does every week by the river and ends up hosting an evangelist in her home. This story of return is a return to our promises as a church. What do we owe each other?

Our worship series for this fall is called Homecoming: Stories of Return. We’re looking at all sorts of stories of return in Scripture: parables, history, Jesus stories, church stories, and poetry. What does it mean to return home? We’ll be looking at how complicated returning home can be when home is no longer what we remembered or perhaps not even there anymore. We’ll be imagining home as a place we make rather than a place we travel to, and we’ll be discovering that returning is a group endeavor. This series will culminate with the dedication of our repaired building, our own return.

Find us on social media: Facebook and Instagram. Or, contact us through our website: www.azlechristianchurch.org. To contribute financially to the ongoing ministry of Azle Christian Church, you can give on our website or find us on Venmo (@Azle-ChristianChurch).

Things seem to be going well in Nazareth when Jesus returns home, but something flips the switch: namely the claim of ownership of Jesus by his hometown supporters. Sometimes returning home means not looking back on the past or holding out for the future, but instead, noticing what God is doing today in our midst.

Our worship series for this fall is called Homecoming: Stories of Return. We’re looking at all sorts of stories of return in Scripture: parables, history, Jesus stories, church stories, and poetry. What does it mean to return home? We’ll be looking at how complicated returning home can be when home is no longer what we remembered or perhaps not even there anymore. We’ll be imagining home as a place we make rather than a place we travel to, and we’ll be discovering that returning is a group endeavor. This series will culminate with the dedication of our repaired building, our own return.

Find us on social media: Facebook and Instagram. Or, contact us through our website: www.azlechristianchurch.org. To contribute financially to the ongoing ministry of Azle Christian Church, you can give on our website or find us on Venmo (@Azle-ChristianChurch).

On the first Monday of each month, listen to ACC's Worship Minister, Nicole Hendley, and Senior Minister, Reverend Ashley Dargai, talk about the intersection of music and theology at Azle Christian Church. In this first episode, we talk about anthem selections for our upcoming worship series "Homecoming: Stories of Return." What do Jesus and Johnny Cash have to do with one another? Did John Denver unknowingly sing the songs of Israel? Have we sparked your curiosity? GOOD. Let's dig in!

Find us on social media: Facebook and Instagram. Or, contact us through our website: www.azlechristianchurch.org. To contribute financially to the ongoing ministry of Azle Christian Church, you can give on our website or find us on Venmo (@Azle-ChristianChurch).

The Parable of the Prodigal Son is a well-worn story of return, of being found, of being loved. But what if this story is not finished speaking to us? As we peel back the layers of this parable, using other Bible stories to help us, we might see that what we knew about this story is all wrong. And this subversion of the story might be how find it anew.

Our worship series for this fall is called Homecoming: Stories of Return. We’re looking at all sorts of stories of return in Scripture: parables, history, Jesus stories, church stories, and poetry. What does it mean to return home? We’ll be looking at how complicated returning home can be when home is no longer what we remembered or perhaps not even there anymore. We’ll be imagining home as a place we make rather than a place we travel to, and we’ll be discovering that returning is a group endeavor. This series will culminate with the dedication of our repaired building, our own return.

Find us on social media: Facebook and Instagram. Or, contact us through our website: www.azlechristianchurch.org. To contribute financially to the ongoing ministry of Azle Christian Church, you can give on our website or find us on Venmo (@Azle-ChristianChurch).

Jesus ends his sermon with calls for empathy, attention, and persistence. Many of the teachings in this section are familiar to those who don’t regularly attend church because of their absorption into mainstream culture. But this final bit of the sermon, about building our house on a rock, seems to call us to action after what we’ve heard. What will we do with the words of Jesus?

This summer we’re hunkering down in the most iconic sermon of all time: Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount. It’s his longest sustained exploration of the upside down kingdom of God, and while it’s only three chapters, it is filled to the brim with gospel imagination. Is the salt and light metaphor tired or inspired? Is Jesus just nit-picking with some of these laws or is he on to something? Whether you’re traveling this summer or finding ways to staycation at home, join us on this journey to the Mount.

Find us on social media: Facebook and Instagram. Or, contact us through our website: www.azlechristianchurch.org. To contribute financially to the ongoing ministry of Azle Christian Church, you can give on our website or find us on Venmo (@Azle-ChristianChurch).

While this text can feel very Mary Oliver-esque with its admonishment to consider the lilies, it’s hard to read Jesus telling us not to worry in a world that feels as though it’s on fire…in more ways than one. Like, read the room, Jesus! But maybe looking at the birds and the flowers is about more than getting our mind off things. Perhaps we might see a deeper truth of our place in God’s care.

This summer we’re hunkering down in the most iconic sermon of all time: Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount. It’s his longest sustained exploration of the upside down kingdom of God, and while it’s only three chapters, it is filled to the brim with gospel imagination. Is the salt and light metaphor tired or inspired? Is Jesus just nit-picking with some of these laws or is he on to something? Whether you’re traveling this summer or finding ways to staycation at home, join us on this journey to the Mount.

Find us on social media: Facebook and Instagram. Or, contact us through our website: www.azlechristianchurch.org. To contribute financially to the ongoing ministry of Azle Christian Church, you can give on our website or find us on Venmo (@Azle-ChristianChurch).

In this text, Jesus us tells us not to store up treasures for ourself on earth because they don’t last forever. No offense to Jesus, but there’s no way he could have predicted something like plastic that will outlive us all. Sure, material goods don’t last forever, but these days, they do last a very long time. If something like plastic is representative of our modern world, what then does Jesus have to say about money, our human condition, and our neighbor in light of this brave new world?

This summer we’re hunkering down in the most iconic sermon of all time: Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount. It’s his longest sustained exploration of the upside down kingdom of God, and while it’s only three chapters, it is filled to the brim with gospel imagination. Is the salt and light metaphor tired or inspired? Is Jesus just nit-picking with some of these laws or is he on to something? Whether you’re traveling this summer or finding ways to staycation at home, join us on this journey to the Mount.

Find us on social media: Facebook and Instagram. Or, contact us through our website: www.azlechristianchurch.org. To contribute financially to the ongoing ministry of Azle Christian Church, you can give on our website or find us on Venmo (@Azle-ChristianChurch).

The Lord’s Prayer is one of the most familiar pieces of scripture ever. But what does it mean to pray it together? Is it just a template for our own personal prayers? Is it a magic talisman that makes things go our way? Or is there something deeper going on when we say it together as a church each week?

This summer we’re hunkering down in the most iconic sermon of all time: Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount. It’s his longest sustained exploration of the upside down kingdom of God, and while it’s only three chapters, it is filled to the brim with gospel imagination. Is the salt and light metaphor tired or inspired? Is Jesus just nit-picking with some of these laws or is he on to something? Whether you’re traveling this summer or finding ways to staycation at home, join us on this journey to the Mount.

Find us on social media: Facebook and Instagram. Or, contact us through our website: www.azlechristianchurch.org. To contribute financially to the ongoing ministry of Azle Christian Church, you can give on our website or find us on Venmo (@Azle-ChristianChurch).

In this section of the Sermon on the Mount, we explore the well-known metaphors of salt, light, and a city on a hill. These are lines the church knows well--in fact, these metaphors are better preached by the work of the church than any long diatribe someone can offer. And though it seems like everything has changed, and that indeed the only dependable reality is change, our call is the same: be salt, light, and a city on a hill. We'll figure out what that looks like together.

This summer we’re hunkering down in the most iconic sermon of all time: Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount. It’s his longest sustained exploration of the upside down kingdom of God, and while it’s only three chapters, it is filled to the brim with gospel imagination. Is the salt and light metaphor tired or inspired? Is Jesus just nit-picking with some of these laws or is he on to something? Whether you’re traveling this summer or finding ways to staycation at home, join us on this journey to the Mount.

Find us on social media: Facebook and Instagram. Or, contact us through our website: www.azlechristianchurch.org. To contribute financially to the ongoing ministry of Azle Christian Church, you can give on our website or find us on Venmo (@Azle-ChristianChurch).