First Christian Church Champaign

What if your restlessness isn’t random—but a sign you’re being led by the wrong shepherd? This message opens with Psalm 23 echoing through unexpected places (from Coolio to the Titanic), then invites you to sit under David’s most famous confession: “The Lord is my shepherd; I lack nothing.” Walk through green pastures and quiet waters, face the darkest valley with a Shepherd who stays near, and see the startling picture of God preparing a feast even in the presence of enemies. Along the way, the sermon names the rival voices shaping modern life—productivity, comfort, self-reliance, even “the algorithm”—and guides you through reflective questions to uncover where you’re anxious, exhausted, and drifting. It ends with a call to trust Jesus, the good shepherd who lays down His life, and to pray Psalm 23 as a lived reality.

What if the gap in your faith isn’t what you believe—but what (and who) you’ve actually let in? This message sits in Psalm 139, where David refuses a distant, “facts-about-God” spirituality and instead prays with bold honesty, “Search me… know me… lead me.” Explore the tension of an all-knowing, ever-present, all-powerful God—and the often-overlooked truth that His love governs it all—then consider when you last invited Him into the deepest, most guarded places of your heart.

What if the thing you’re really chasing isn’t a new tent to try on, but a home you were made to live in? Psalm 15 asks a piercing question—who can dwell with God—and it pulls us up toward a holiness that feels breathtaking and impossible all at once. If you’re tired of searching, tired of trying to prove you belong, and you’re ready to trade self-reliance for something steadier, this message is an invitation to “climb” again. Not in your strength, but in the grace of the One who goes before you—so you can stop striving, start trusting, and find the kind of presence that leaves you never wanting to come back down.

Most of us know what it’s like to see the check engine light and hope it goes away—but what happens when the warning isn’t under your hood, it’s in your soul? In Psalm 6, David refuses to shrug off what’s going on inside of him and instead turns toward the only One who can heal, deliver, and save. If you’ve been carrying consequences, ignoring conviction, or assuming God is angry or distant, this message invites you to stop, turn, and discover the face of mercy waiting for you. Don’t turn inward. Don’t turn outward. Turn God-ward—and come home.

What do you reach for when everything feels like it’s burning down around you? Psalm 46 doesn’t offer a pep talk—it points to a refuge that can’t be shaken, a place of strength when the world is loud, the wars feel endless, and your soul is tired. This week, lean into the words, “Be still and know that I am God,” and consider what it looks like to stop striving, stop fighting alone, and run to the only fortress that holds. If you’ve been searching for safety in all the wrong places, this message is an invitation to come and see—and to find the God who is with you in the middle of it all.

Have you ever wondered why some people stay steady through chaos while others get blown around by every new season? Psalm 1 draws a vivid line between two paths—and invites you to consider where your life is being rooted. In this opening message of Summer in the Psalms, we’re challenged to see how ordinary, daily choices shape what we become, and why true happiness isn’t found in getting everything we want, but in being planted somewhere deeper. If you’re weary, distracted, or craving something that actually lasts, this is an invitation to let God’s Word become more than information—something you delight in, return to, and build your life upon.

What if the greatest threat to your faith isn’t doubt—it’s distraction? In this message from 1 Timothy 6:17–21, Paul’s final words land like a charge: turn from “godless chatter,” place your hope where it actually holds, and let faith become more than a thought. If you’ve felt the tension between what you believe and how you live, this episode invites you to step into a kind of faith that moves—head to heart to hands—and to name the one thing you’ve been afraid to surrender. Jesus meets you when you move.

There’s a real fight happening—whether you feel it or not—and what’s at stake is bigger than comfort, confidence, or getting through another week. From a prank that nearly turned deadly to Paul’s charge in 1 Timothy 6 to “fight the good fight,” this message presses one question: what are you holding onto when the hits keep coming? The surprising path to victory isn’t trying harder—it’s a “good confession,” a surrender that lets Jesus step in and fight what you can’t. If you’re tired, distracted, or wondering how much you have left in the tank, this is an invitation to let go of control, take hold of eternal life, and respond with trust.

What’s the one thing your life is quietly advertising—your work, your interests, your money… or Jesus? In 1 Timothy 5:24–6:10, Paul presses on what becomes “obvious” over time, exposing the subtle ways controversy, unhealthy interests, and the love of money can shape us without us noticing. This message invites you to take an honest look at what you’re chasing, what you’re consuming, and what you can’t stop talking about—and then to start small: name it, confess it, replace it. If you’re ready for faith that reaches past Sundays and into every corner of your week, lean in.

What if the thing you dismiss as “just practice” is actually shaping everything people will see in public? This message takes you into 1 Timothy 5 to wrestle with what it means to honor spiritual leadership without excusing it, to handle accusations with wisdom instead of impulse, and to slow down before we hand anyone a platform. If you’ve ever felt tension between grace and truth, grown tired of performative faith, or wondered what real spiritual influence looks like when nobody’s watching, lean in—because your roots will always show up in your fruit.