Church of the City New York

This Sunday, guest pastor Corey Russell continued our Seeking God series by teaching on the Intercessor. Anchoring his teaching in Isaiah 59, Pastor Corey pointed out that God is deeply and emotionally invested in the state of humanity, and in His longing for justice, sought out a human intercessor to stand in the gap for the purpose our reconciliation to Him. Intercessors are living proof of God's love for humanity, emerging for the purpose of salvation, and when God could not find an intercessor on earth, He stretched out His own arm towards us, becoming fully human in Christ Jesus, so that He could be our intercessor.

This Sunday, Pastor Jon continued our January sermon series, "Seeking God," by examining the story of Zacchaeus and the lengths that God will go to seek to save the lost. Jesus' Great Commission at the end of Matthew's gospel commands His followers to "go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit," establishing that the priority of Heaven is bringing the lost home, and forcing us to ask, "Is it also ours?" For the Gospel of Jesus is the only message in the world that acknowledges both the beauty of the human soul and the brokenness of it, and still says it is worth saving. The church of Christ was made to continue His mission to seek and save the lost, meeting them with the unexpected, life-altering, grace of the Gospel.

SEEKING GOD: SURRENDERED HEARTS — This Sunday, we began our January sermon series, "Seeking God." Pastor Jon pointed out that though we know God is a "seeking" God, we rarely consider who or what He is seeking. This week we saw that God is seeking surrendered hearts, wholly devoted to Him, by looking at the life of King Asa in 2 Chronicles. Asa's reign over Judah displays both whole-hearted devotion and the tragedy of half-heartedness. Pastor Jon exhorted us to resolve to diligently seek God, identify and renounce any division in our hearts (not managing idols but destroying them), and reignite our passion for seeking God. A half-hearted response is inappropriate towards a whole-hearted God who loves us and spared no expense to save us.

This Advent Season, we have been exploring Christmas through different characters in the story of Jesus' birth, and this week, Pastor Suzy took a closer look at Mary in her sermonette for Lessons & Carols. Through Mary, we see a beautiful picture of what happens when the deep longings of both a people, and an individual, are fulfilled. The core longing of each person is to be loved, and at the end of the day, the Christmas story is a love story that we are invited to recognize, respond to, participate in, and witness about to the all the world.

This past Sunday, Pastor Jon explored the curiosity Christmas stirs up in the human heart through the story of the Wise Men in Matthew's gospel. In their journey we see the importance of humbly seeking answers beyond ourselves and actively evaluating and deciding what is worth our whole life devotion.

This past Sunday, Pastor Jon continued our Advent series by examining the story of Joseph and what he teaches us about embracing a spirit of peace in contested spaces. Pastor Jon explained that peace that relies on perfect circumstances is actually no peace at all. Instead, Joseph's life shows us that true peace is disruptive and anti-fragile, is found in the miraculous ordinary, and comes through costly obedience.

This past Sunday, Pastor Olivia kicked off our Advent sermon series with a message on deferred longing being an invitation to hope. Jesus knows that desires lurk within us, both pure and unpure, and that it is much safer to open up these desires in His presence. Once we acknowledge these longings, we are inevitably led into the reality of waiting and hoping for these longings to be fulfilled.

This week, Pastor Ashley concluded our "The Way of Jesus" series with "The Way of Justice." When Jesus inaugurated His ministry, He announced Himself as the same God of the Old Testament who defended the fatherless, the widowed, the poor, and the oppressed. Ultimately, she taught that Jesus' biblical justice requires us to sacrifice privilege with suspended judgment for the restoration of others.

This Sunday, Pastor Suzy continued in our "The Way of Jesus" series by teaching through "The Way of Gratitude." She focused on a story in Luke's gospel of Jesus healing ten men with leprosy, only to have one of them return and thank Him, and pointed out that we often suffer from a similar lack of gratitude when it comes to Jesus. She encouraged us to create rhythms of gratitude, so that we will be able to give thanks in all circumstances and not forget who God is and what He has done for us.

This past Sunday, Pastor Jon preached about the personal and intentional steps he routinely practices to encounter the Lord. He used the acronym of T.I.M.E to explain his process which consists of identifying Truth, asking for Insight, going on Mission, and the resulting experience of true Encounter. Through the devotion of our time, patience, and obedience we continue forward on our journey into understanding and the living out of the depths of joy and freedom our heavenly Father has to offer us.