Frontier Church

BIG IDEA:

Your treasure reveals your trust.

And generosity is how the Father reshapes the heart.

Luke 12 is one of Jesus’ most direct teachings on money, anxiety, and trust. In this message, we’re not taking a “new building offering” or running a campaign—we’re letting Jesus do heart-level surgery. As Frontier steps into a new season of stewarding a building and a long-term vision, the deeper question is: What kind of people are we becoming?

In Luke 12, Jesus exposes false security through the parable of the rich fool, then speaks tenderly to His disciples about worry—revealing that anxiety is often a sign of what we believe God is like. The invitation is clear: trust the Father, seek the Kingdom, and let generosity reshape the heart.

Key takeaways from the message:

-Money is rarely just a math issue. It is almost always a trust issue.

-Greed is uniquely blinding because it hides behind “wisdom,” “prudence,” and “being realistic.”

-The rich fool’s problem wasn’t wealth—it was building his life without reference to God.

-Anxiety is not only a personality trait; it reveals lived theology—what you believe God is like.

-Jesus doesn’t say “don’t plan.” He says “don’t panic.” You can have wise plans without worshiping your plans.

“Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” Your treasure doesn’t just reveal your heart—it directs it.

Spirit-filled Christianity has historically produced radical generosity, and Acts shows how seriously God treats integrity around generosity.

Three questions we ask (and sit with) in the sermon:

1) What am I actually trusting to secure my life?

2) What does my anxiety reveal about my view of God as Father?

3) Where is my treasure going—and what is it forming in me?

THE GENEROSITY TEST:

1) Where does my lifestyle money (my margin) go?

2) Has anyone ever been stunned by my generosity?

3) Am I investing in anything that will outlive me?

THIS WEEK'S PRACTICE (simple, concrete, and freeing):

-Review your last 60 days of spending with the Holy Spirit—not with guilt, but to get free.

-Identify one place you’re gripping too tightly and practice loosening your hold.

-Ask God for one person or one need you can invest in intentionally this week.

If you’re carrying real anxiety around provision—rent, bills, payroll, uncertainty—this message is also for you. We close by praying for breakthrough and reminding one another: you are not alone, and your Father knows what you need.

Listen if you want:

-A Jesus-centered approach to money that doesn’t manipulate or guilt.

-Freedom from anxiety rooted in a deeper view of God as Father.

-A practical, formational path into generosity as discipleship.

What Is Shaping Your Truth? | John 17:13–19

We just stepped into a new building — but Jesus reminds us we’re stepping into something much bigger.

In John 17, on the night before the cross, Jesus prays not that His followers would escape the world, but that they would be sanctified in the truth and sent into it. In a culture where truth is personal, autonomy is ultimate, and happiness is the highest good, this prayer feels more urgent than ever.

This message explores a defining question for our moment:

What is shaping your truth?

Because whatever shapes your truth will shape your life — and your mission.

In this sermon, we unpack:

-How the “world” forms us through repetition, comparison, and cultural pressure

-Why conflict is not a sign of failure, but often a sign of faithfulness

-What Jesus means when He prays, “Sanctify them in the truth; Your Word is truth”

-How sanctification fuels mission — not retreat

-What it looks like to live sent without being shaped by the culture around us

Jesus does not call us to escape the world.

He calls us to love it — without being absorbed by it.

Big Idea:

In a world trying to shape your truth, Jesus prays that you would be sanctified by His truth — so you can be sent into the world without being shaped by it.

This message is part of our vision for Frontier Church as we seek to renew the beauty of Jesus on the frontiers of modern culture.

Formed to Overcome: "The Only Way to Defeat Evil" | Romans 12

As we close our final Sunday at Webster Elementary and prepare to step into our new space, we return to Romans 12 and ask a defining question:

If the gospel is true, what kind of people does it create?

Paul tells us that in view of God’s mercy, we offer our lives as living sacrifices. We don’t improve ourselves first — we offer ourselves first. And from that altar, something happens.

The gospel produces a people who are:

-Humble — secure enough not to prove themselves

-Connected — members of a body, not spiritual consumers

-Participating — using the grace already given for the good of others

But Paul doesn’t stop there.

He moves from the body to the world and describes the “marks of a true Christian”:

-Genuine love

-Blessing instead of retaliation

-Honor instead of comparison

-Peace instead of escalation

-Overcoming evil with good

These are not just nice moral teachings.

They are the result of a reality that has been redefined by the cross and resurrection.

The gospel reshapes:

Power — from domination to self-giving love

Justice — from personal vengeance to trust in God’s judgment

Identity — from performance to adopted security

Future Hope — from panic in the present to resurrection certainty

Because of Jesus, we don’t have to dominate, retaliate, defend, or panic.

We are formed to overcome.

As we step into a new season as a church, we are asking the Holy Spirit to form us into a people who live secure, carry the body, and bring peace.

Overcome evil with good.

What are we really offering our lives to?

In this message from our Vision Series, we linger in Romans 12:1–2 and name the quiet, powerful forces shaping us every day. The Bible calls us to become living sacrifices—but that raises an honest question: What are we already sacrificing ourselves for?

This teaching explores five modern “altars” that often form our pace, identity, and sense of worth:

-productivity

-security

-image

-control

-success

None of these are evil—but left unquestioned, they slowly disciple us.

Paul’s invitation in Romans 12 isn’t about trying harder or becoming more spiritual. It’s about offering our whole lives in response to God’s mercy and being re-formed by a different story. The message closes with a simple, embodied practice—inviting us to slow down, pay attention to what’s shaping us, and take one small step of faithful obedience this week.

This is formation that’s honest, communal, and sustainable.

Not self-improvement—but a life shaped by grace.

Scripture: Romans 12:1–2

Series: Vision Series — Family, Formation, Frontiers

What does steady faith look like in a chaotic world?

In this message from Psalm 71, Pastor Christian invites us to take the long view of faith — a faith formed not by dramatic rescue, but by learning to make God our home over a lifetime.

Before opening the text, he briefly and pastorally addresses two real tensions many are feeling right now:

1) the renewed immigration unrest and recent deaths connected to enforcement and protest, naming both the fear people are carrying and the need for truth, dignity, and moral clarity beyond political tribes

2) the recent revelations surrounding Shawn Bolz and the prophetic movement, offering guidance for how a Word-and-Spirit church pursues spiritual gifts with biblical grounding, humility, and safeguards

From there, Psalm 71 becomes the anchor — a psalm written not by the young or the old, but by someone learning to trust God across seasons.

This message explores:

-what it means to make God our dwelling, not just our helper

-how trust shifts from outcomes to God’s character

-how a life quietly shaped by God’s presence can become a sign of hope to others

This is a sermon for anyone tired of reactionary faith, outrage-driven narratives, or spiritual shortcuts — and hungry for a deeper, steadier way of walking with God.

Key theme: Faith is formed when we make God our home, trust who He is, and live today in light of His future faithfulness.

The Bride Jesus Sees — Becoming the Church He Died For

Most of us carry mixed experiences with church. Some are beautiful. Some are painful. Some leave us skeptical. But what if our view of the church has been shaped more by consumerism than by conviction?

In this message, Phil invites us to see the church the way Jesus sees her — not just in her imperfections, but in her eternal beauty, devotion, and purpose.

Drawing from Hebrews and Revelation, we’re reminded that Jesus endured the cross for the joy set before Him — His Bride. The church is not just a religious organization or a weekend gathering. She is the beloved Bride of Christ, being prepared for a wedding day.

This sermon explores three powerful questions:

• What does Jesus see when He looks at His Church?

• Are we more offended by her imperfections or more captivated by her future glory?

• What does it mean to belong to and become the church Jesus died for?

You’ll be challenged to move from a consumer mindset to a covenant mindset — from evaluating the church to becoming the church.

Whether you’ve been hurt by church, drifting from church, or longing for a deeper vision of what the church is meant to be, this message will help you rediscover why the Church is still God’s chosen hope for the world.

Why does the debate between individualism and community never go away?

Why do freedom and belonging so often feel like they’re in competition?

In this message, we explore one of the deepest longings of the human heart — the desire to be fully known and fully free — and why neither radical individualism nor forced collectivism can actually deliver the life we’re looking for.

Drawing from James 3:17–4:4, this sermon offers a striking diagnosis:

the way we treat one another reveals what is forming us.

James shows us that:

-when worth is measured, rivalry becomes normal

-when comfort is protected, peace is avoided

-when allegiance is divided, community fractures

But he also holds out a better vision — a counter-cultural family formed by the wisdom of heaven.

Using vivid, local imagery (from auditions vs. family tables to rebuilding foundations after fires in Altadena and Pasadena), this message invites us to imagine — and begin practicing — a different kind of life together:

a community where worth is received, peace is practiced, and allegiance to Jesus is clear.

This is not a political message.

It’s a spiritual one.

It’s about the church as a third way —

a people learning to live now as a sign of the world to come.

If you’ve ever felt caught between autonomy and belonging…

If you’ve ever longed for real community without losing yourself…

This message is for you.

Watch now and join us as we learn what it means to become a counter-cultural family — slowly, imperfectly, but intentionally — together.

Romans 8 | From Orphan Anxiety to Adopted Hope //A Different Way of Life

Many of us came to Los Angeles with a dream.

Not just a career dream—but a hope of becoming someone.

And somewhere along the way, the dream quietly turned into pressure.

When your dream becomes your identity:

-Failure feels like disqualification

-Slowness feels like falling behind

-Rest feels irresponsible

Scripture has a name for this way of living.

Paul calls it slavery to fear.

In Romans 8, Paul offers a deeper diagnosis of the human condition.

Our problem isn’t a lack of discipline, motivation, or confidence.

It’s orphanhood—fearful self-reliance shaped by the belief that we’re on our own.

But the gospel offers something radically different: adoption.

“You did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear,

but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, ‘Abba! Father!’” (Romans 8:15)

This message explores how adoption reshapes identity, suffering, hope, and daily life—and why all of creation is watching to see what redeemed humanity looks like when sons and daughters live from belonging instead of fear.

BIG IDEA

The New Year exposes orphan anxiety, but the gospel invites us into adoption—

where suffering has meaning, hope forms us, and the Spirit leads us into a different way of life.

THE MOVEMENT OF THE MESSAGE

1. Adoption Re-Centers Identity

Paul’s claim isn’t abstract theology—it’s a diagnosis of orphaned humanity, especially in a city built on self-made lives and success-as-identity.

2. Creation Is Watching (Romans 8:19)

The world is waiting to see what redeemed humanity looks like.

Creation isn’t waiting for Christians to escape the world

It isn’t waiting for us to fix everything

When people live as orphans, the world groans.

When sons and daughters are revealed, creation catches a glimpse of hope.

3. Suffering Is Not Failure

It confirms we’re walking the same road as Christ.

Adoption does not remove suffering

Groaning does not mean you’re off course

Paul says we are heirs with Christ provided we suffer with Him.

Struggle doesn’t disprove faith—it often means formation is happening.

Orphans interpret difficulty as rejection.

Sons and daughters interpret difficulty as formation.

4. Hope Forms Us While We Wait

Biblical hope is not optimism or positive thinking.

It’s future certainty shaping present faithfulness. REMEMBER THE FUTURE.

Paul describes creation’s pain not as death—but as childbirth:

-Real pain

-Pain with direction

-Pain with meaning

Hope doesn’t remove the pain.

Hope tells us what kind of pain this is.

PRACTICES: LEARNING A DIFFERENT WAY OF LIFE

Romans 8 doesn’t just change what we believe—it changes how we live.

These practices are not about self-improvement.

They are about training ourselves to wait as children, not panic as orphans.

1. Reflection — Awareness Before Action

Take time this week to reflect, not to fix.

Ask slowly:

-What has been shaping my rhythms lately?

-Where do I feel hurried, distracted, or spiritually thin?

-What kind of life do I want to be living one year from now?

-What is one small rhythm God may be inviting me into?

These questions are about attentiveness, not optimization.

2. One Small Practice — Embodied Trust

Orphans try to change everything at once

Sons and daughters choose one small act of trust

Choose one, not all:

-A Daily Pause of Dependence (2–5 minutes)

-Sit still

-Phone down

Pray one sentence slowly:

“Abba, I belong to You.”

"Father, I trust You with what I can’t fix.”

"Spirit, lead me today.”

OR one practice that teaches waiting:

-Sabbath: a small block of time where you stop producing and receive

-Fasting: skip one meal or habit to remember your limits

-Silence: ten minutes with no noise or solving

-Scripture: one short passage, read slowly without rushing

The goal isn’t intensity.

It’s consistency that trains trust.

3. Shared Rhythm — Don’t Practice Alone

Orphans isolate when unsure

Sons and daughters wait together

Share your chosen rhythm with: a friend, your family, a community group

Formation happens best in shared life.

Follow Me Again, A Shepherding Sermon for the New Year

John 21

At the start of a new year, many of us feel what could be called the New Year Ache—a quiet pressure to fix ourselves, reinvent our lives, or prove we’re enough. Even when life is good, January often amplifies exhaustion, comparison, regret, and a crisis of confidence.

This message explores why cultural solutions to that ache ultimately fall short. While the world tells us to stop striving by convincing ourselves we’re already enough, the gospel offers a deeper and truer hope: we are restored not by self-belief, but by re-anchored dependence on Jesus.

Peter’s Confidence Collapse — and Ours

In John 21, Peter meets Jesus after his greatest failure. Peter’s struggle isn’t just burnout—it’s fracture:

-moral collapse (he denied Jesus),

-identity collapse (“I thought I was that kind of man”), and

-vocational collapse (“Can I still lead?”).

Fishing again wasn’t sin—it was retreating into what he could control.

Jesus restores Peter not by sending him inward to fix himself, nor by ignoring his failure, but by restoring him to his calling:

“Feed my sheep. Follow me.”

Peter’s soul is healed because:

-he is forgiven without minimizing,

-reinstated without probation,

-and trusted without pretending.

The Big Idea

Jesus restores people not by telling them to fix themselves, but by re-anchoring them in His love and calling—inviting them to follow again, this time without illusion.

This message invites us to recognize our own temptation to retreat into control, productivity, or self-optimization—and to hear Jesus’ gentle call again: Follow me.

The Frontier Why

This sermon also launches Frontier’s January Vision Series and answers a foundational question:

Why does the church exist in this cultural moment?

At our core, Frontier exists to be:

a counter-cultural family,

formed by the presence of Jesus,

for the frontiers of modern culture.

Not a community built on performance or confidence, but one shaped by dependence, formation, and faithful presence.

Reset to Rhythms

The message introduces a seven-week Reset to Rhythms journey, inviting the church into shared practices of prayer, fasting, and reflection—not to fix ourselves, but to follow Jesus with intention as we prepare for a new season and a new home.

Closing Invitation

As we begin the year:

-Don’t reinvent your life.

-Don’t carry what was never meant to be on your back.

-Let God re-form you.

You don’t have to carry the year today.

Just follow the Shepherd this week.

The Scandal of Christmas | Mark 6 — God Came Close

NOTE: This stream had technical issues and got cut split into two parts. Please click here for the first 12 minutes of the message: https://youtube.com/live/tf-avztsvcs

We love scandal when leaders fall. But Mark 6 shows a different kind of scandal: a Leader who rises. In Jesus’ hometown of Nazareth, people aren’t offended because He breaks laws—but because He violates their categories. He’s more than they expected, and less than they wanted.

In this message, we explore the original scandal of Christmas: God coming near in flesh and blood. And that nearness confronts us, frees us, and sends us.

You’ll hear:

-Why we feel offense before we can explain it, and why Jesus still confronts our “systems of worth”

-Why God chooses the ordinary, the mundane, and the uncomfortable as the place His Kingdom breaks in

-Why rejection is normal in following Jesus—but resentment is optional

-What it means to “shake the dust off”—not as anger, but as spiritual hygiene and freedom from carrying false responsibility

-How repentance isn’t guilt management, but re-centering your life around the true King

If you’re tired, overwhelmed, afraid of being “found out,” or carrying weight you were never meant to carry, this is a word of confrontation and comfort—and an invitation to step into freedom.

Scripture: Mark 6:1–13

Series: Advent / Christmas at Frontier Church