Citizens Weekly

From the series, "Acts". Why is it that when some people face opposition, they’re resilient, while others completely fall apart? Roadblocks, detours, and closed doors are expected parts of life in The Way of Jesus. Opposition, conflict, and tension may feel like defeat, but instead, it is an opportunity and an invitation for new life and a new beginning. 

Resurrection is God’s rescue mission, and it all begins with Jesus conquering death with a tomb that’s empty. Resurrection announces that there is a new creation bursting forth, right here and right now. Resurrection is the promise of something better and a hope that the end is not really the end. Resurrection is God’s invitation to join him in redeeming, restoring, and renewing all things. 

The Bible is meant to be read in three dimensions: understanding the text, knowing its historical significance, and seeing it all through the cultural lens of ancient Israel.  Palm Sunday challenges the beliefs we hold at our core, who and what we serve, and how far we’re willing to go. Listen and see how the text lives and breathes and reveals the mystery of a savior who holds something so dear He would die for it. 

From the series, "Acts". Encounters with Jesus change us as individuals and together as the family of God. The power of the Holy Spirit enables us to do more through our lives than humanly possible and the effects will far outlast our own lives.

Most of our misconceptions regarding the "Family of God" are steeped in the modern American ethos of do more and more things for more and more people, which is not the Father's heart for His children. The "Family of God" instead looks more like a collective faith in Christ infused by the Holy Spirit's authority to "rejoice and mourn" together freely and well -- even, if necessary, in the same room.

From the Series, “Acts”. God is deeply and fundamentally relational, and because of this, he will use any means possible to be in a relationship with humankind, and that includes you. In Acts 8, we see five ways God reconciles us to himself: through disruption, generosity, inclusion, obedience, and suffering. 

From the series, “Acts”. The faith that has been handed down to us is not the result of a Church that won cultural and political battles over the centuries. It's an inheritance from men and women like Stephen, who demonstrate the power, cost, and hope of cross-shaped living rooted in the Church. Stephen's story is not meant to make him an uncommon hero but to invite us into the kind of life he lived, whether or not we face the kind of death he faced - a life of service in the Church, shaped by the upside-down love and wisdom of the cross even in the face of suffering and opposition.

From the Series, “The Way of Jesus”. Our lives are no more than the combination of a million tiny decisions. How do we live with discernment and wisdom that reflects the way of Jesus in areas that aren’t specifically spelled out in scripture? True wisdom is humble action that recognizes the value of others above ourselves. 

From the series, “Acts”.  Acts 6:1-7 reports the first major conflict in the early church. The disciples' response reveals significant truths (and challenges) about God's hope to establish spiritual families even among the unimpressive and unfamiliar within our communities.

From the series, “Acts”. We are, by and large, suspicious of any kind of authority, both good or bad. We fear the loss of our independent control, so we recoil with skepticism and negativity. In Acts 5:17-42, we see those who surrendered to God's authority in a commitment to teach the good news of Jesus at all costs - even if they lost what we might call “rights” or “freedom”. We see a church submitted to God’s authority by way of the cross, a way that transcends trend and technique, and this is really good news for a worn out church in a world that’s lost its way.