Confidence is good, but we've all made the mistake of being overconfident before. It usually doesn't play out well. That can also happen in our spiritual walk. The church in Laodicea didn't need anything or anyone, but that was the issue. They had gotten so confident in themselves that they've stopped relying on Jesus and pushed him out. How do we avoid making the same mistakes in our Christian walk?

Has anyone else noticed how much Thanksgiving has been sidelined? Overtaken by Christmas and Black Friday sales, most of the thoughts toward Thanksgiving are focused on what we are going to put on our plates first. But maybe there is more to Thanksgiving than that. The Bible certainly has a lot to say about gratitude and giving thanks, but why is it so important? Today we take a brief detour and talk about the impact of gratitude and why it can be the answer to so much of our holiday anxieties and frustrations.

It is easy when we are surrounded by our own worries and problems to stay focused on ourselves. But as christians, we know we've been given a mission to spread the gospel to the rest of the world? How can we make sure we see the doors that God is opening around us? This Sunday, our guest speaker Moses Kalala shares stories from the church in Kinshasa, DRC as he reminds us that Jesus has opened doors everywhere for the good news.

Complacency doesn't usually strike us as the worst thing in the world, yet in Jesus' letter to the church in Sardis, he seems to take it pretty seriously. Today we look at the history of Sardis and discover why complacency was an issue there and how to deal with complacency in our own lives today.

Compromise can be a good thing. Rather than have to choose one or the other, why not have both? But in the case of the church in Thyatira, this was the issue Jesus pointed out in his letter. There are some things that we simply cannot afford to make compromises. How do we hold on to our convictions when the world around us is trying to sell us on compromise?

Today it can become harder and harder to tell what is real. This isn't a new problem. The Christians in Pergamum were dealing with false doctrines and teachings coming into the church. As they lived with the reality of being ruled by the Roman Empire, temptation to compromise their convictions for the sake of even being able to make a living was very real. How do we draw lessons from the church and how can we fight off the temptation to make compromises today?

What is worth dying for? It is an intense question, but it is a critically important one, because it determines our priorities and therefore how we make decisions and choose to live our lives. The church in Smyrna was faced with this question on a daily basis. Would you be willing to give up your life? Or would you give up your faith instead? Though we don't often have to face this choice here in the US, it still raises considerations for what we are and are not willing to endure for our faith today. Join us as we take a look at what Jesus had to say to the church in Smyrna and what implications it has for our church today.

What would Jesus say to us if he visited our churches today? Are we on track? Have we lost our way? Today we start our series Letters & Lampstands. We look at the seven letters Jesus wrote to the seven churches of Asia in Revelation and see if there are any points we can consider for ourselves today. Ephesus was a wealthy port town saturated with idol worship. The church had endured hardship and persecution, but there was something missing still in their discipleship. They had forgotten the love they had at first.

We've all done difficult things before. We subject ourselves to hardship and suffering in pursuit of a higher goal. Whether it is enduring school to get a better job, or long nights as a parent to raise our children, we all understand choosing the more difficult path in service of the greater good. So when it comes to our discipleship, to following Jesus, are we also willing? God calls us to be holy, to be set apart. What does that look like and why would we subject ourselves to that kind of life? Join us as we dive into the calling to be holy.

Join us as Austin Christian Church celebrates our 30th Anniversary! Today David talks about crossroads moments. The Israelites stand on the edge of taking the promised land. Before those fateful steps across the Jordan River, Joshua calls the people to prepare themselves. As we stand at crossroads moments, as a church and in our own lives, how do we take those first steps of faith into the unknown?