Wilderness experiences are formative; they leave you changed, for better or worse. Sometimes wildernesses are self- or man-imposed, and sometimes they are God-imposed. In 1 Kings 19, we see the saga of Elijah whom God used to defeat the false prophets of evil. God came to Elijah in his weakness and whispered of His love for Elijah. It is better to be in the wilderness with God than to be on the mountain top without Him.

In this new series, Pastor Troy Sowden focuses on the joy of the mountain top and the reality of the valley. In Psalm 84:5-7, we learn of the Valley of Baka and that valleys are nearly impossible to travel without facing trouble and hardship. The keys that Scripture teaches are that we should: 1) Seek His strength; 2) Set our minds toward God; and 3) Dig a well in faith to catch God's blessings which will come.

In this final week for the Fear Not series, we learn about gratitude. In 2 Samuel 7, we see that King David learns multiple aspects of gratitude.

We worship God because God is great! We worship God because God is good! We look to David to learn more about true, earnest worship. In the English language, we are linguistically constrained with words that describe worship. Here, Pastor Sowden illuminates seven Hebrew words that describe how worship is supposed to look.

James 1:27 - "Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world." The foster care system faces problems such as capacity, stability and quality. All of these needs can be met through the church, if it will do its duty.

The episode of David and Bathsheba is both tragic and revealing. King David gravely displeased the Lord when he tried to hide his sins, but when confronted by Nathan, David did the only righteous thing: he repented. There are valuable lessons regarding repentance which will make our lives better when we practice them.

David's exploits and trials continue to serve as a template for how Christians can handle seasons of testing. King Saul came to hate David because the Lord was with David. And even though David had numerous opportunities to destroy King Saul and stop the persecution, David honored God by refusing to take matters into his own hands. David waited (1 Samuel 26:10-11).

The series "Fear Not" continues with a biblical expose of David and Goliath as an illustration of exercising faith in the presence of overwhelming circumstances. In this epic confrontation, we learn not to fear giant problems; or when your motives are questioned; or standing for your God; or being yourself; or going it alone.

In this new series, Pastor Troy Sowden will use the biblical account of King David to expose the tactics of the enemy with regard to fear. There are several things that "Fear Not" does NOT mean. Most powerfully, “Fear Not” is a simple declaration that God is bigger than our fears.

In this last sermon in the series "Together", we learn that we can impact the world if we: 1) Dream big, but act small; 2) Recognize the eternal; and 3) Stay connected. At CityChurch, we strive to Reach Our City By Reaching One. Let’s lean into the concept of 'Together' to deepen relationships.