Iowa City Church Podcast

What if the greatest thing you could do for yourself, your family, and the people around you was to become more like Jesus?

In this opening message of our Make Disciples series, we explore the extraordinary invitation Jesus extends to ordinary people like you and me. Following Jesus isn't about escaping our everyday lives or doing something extraordinary. It's about learning to live our everyday lives the way Jesus would live them. Imagine how our marriages, families, workplaces, and neighborhoods could be transformed if we began loving, forgiving, serving, and responding to others more like Jesus.

In John 10:10, Jesus promises us an abundant life—not just someday in heaven, but a new life that begins right now. And in John 15, He shows us how that life takes shape as we remain connected to Him and allow Him to transform us from the inside out.

Discipleship isn't about escaping your everyday life. It's about learning to live your everyday life like Jesus. Discover why following Jesus is a life worth living—and a life worth sharing!

Love People: Speak the Truth in Love | Ephesians 4

We all want to belong to a church family where we feel loved, accepted, and encouraged. But what happens when loving someone requires us to have a difficult conversation or hear a truth we may not want to hear?

In this final message of our Love People series, we explore Ephesians 4 and discover what it means to build a healthy, Christ-centered community. Following Jesus was never meant to be a solo journey. We need people in our lives who will encourage us, challenge us, speak honestly, and extend grace as we grow together. Through the Apostle Paul's teaching, we're reminded that speaking the truth in love isn't about winning arguments or pointing out faults. It's about helping one another become more like Jesus.

Because loving people isn't just about accepting them where they are. It's about helping one another become more like Jesus.

Have you ever noticed how easy it is to remember the ways someone has hurt you—and how difficult it can be to let those hurts go? We keep mental scorecards of offenses, disappointments, and broken trust. But the longer we keep score, the harder it becomes to truly love others.

In this message from our Love People sermon series, Stop Keeping Score: Forgive One Another, we explore Jesus' powerful parable of the unforgiving servant in Matthew 18:21–35.

Through this story, Jesus reminds us of the extraordinary mercy and forgiveness we've received from God and challenges us to extend that same grace to others. Forgiveness isn't always easy, but it's essential to the new life Jesus calls us to live.

Join us as we discover why the culture of God's Kingdom is a culture of forgiveness and how letting go of the scorecard can transform our hearts, our relationships, and the way we love people.

In this message from our Love People sermon series, we explore what it means to Serve One Another through Jesus' powerful example in John 13:1–17.

On the night before His crucifixion, Jesus humbled Himself, took a towel, and washed His disciples' feet. The King of Kings took on the role of a servant, demonstrating that genuine love is more than words or feelings—it's a willingness to put the needs of others before our own.

Jesus calls us not simply to admire His example but to follow it. What would happen in our families, our church, and our community if we approached one another with the heart of a servant? Join us as we discover how following Jesus transforms the way we love and serve the people around us.

n this opening message of our Love People sermon series, Daniel McCoy explores Jesus' parable of the Good Samaritan in Luke 10 and challenges us to consider what it really means to see the people God has placed around us.

In the busyness of everyday life, it's easy to overlook those who are hurting or in need. But loving our neighbors begins with noticing them. Through this familiar parable, we discover that genuine love requires us to look beyond ourselves, recognize the needs of others, and respond with compassion.

Join us as we learn what it means to follow Jesus by loving people the way He does.

What does it mean when the Bible says that God is light? It means God is glorious, God is true, and God is good. In a world filled with darkness, confusion, fear, and shame, God invites us to step into the light. In this message from our Love God series, we discover that God's light doesn't expose us simply to condemn us—it reveals the truth, leads us out of darkness, and brings freedom. When we know and love the God who is light, we no longer have to hide—we can walk confidently in His truth and goodness.

What does it mean that God is holy? In Isaiah 6, Isaiah encounters a God who is completely set apart, pure, and unlike anyone or anything else. Seeing God's holiness causes Isaiah to see himself more clearly—but it also leads to cleansing, forgiveness, and calling. In this message from our Love God series, Daniel McCoy reminds us that when we truly see God for who He is, our response is worship, surrender, and a willingness to say, "Here am I. Send me!"

What does it really mean to love God? Jesus said the greatest commandment is to love God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength. But to truly love God, we first need to know Him as He really is.

In this opening message of our Love God series, we turn to Jesus' conversation with the Samaritan woman in John 4 and His remarkable statement: "God is Spirit." We all have a tendency to put God in a box—to reduce Him to a version we can understand, manage, or control. But Jesus reveals a God who cannot be contained by a building, limited to a location, or confined by our assumptions. He is bigger than our boxes, yet He is also personal, present, and wants to be known.

Jesus also tells us that the Father is seeking people who will worship Him "in Spirit and in truth." In this message, we'll explore what that means, confront some of the false ideas we carry about God, and discover what it looks like to worship Him with our whole lives. The more clearly we see who God is, the more deeply we will love Him.

From the time we are young, we're taught to climb the ladder—work hard, accomplish more, move up, and become successful. There's nothing wrong with pursuing excellence or using the gifts God has given us. But what happens when climbing the ladder becomes our definition of a successful life?

In Mark 15, what appears to be Jesus' greatest defeat is actually the coronation of the King. At the cross, Jesus reveals a radically different vision of greatness: in the Kingdom of God, the way up is down. Greatness is found in serving, power is expressed through sacrifice, and true life is found by surrendering ourselves to Jesus.

The world hands us a ladder and tells us to climb. Jesus hands us a cross and says, "Follow me." In this message, we wrestle with a question that gets to the heart of discipleship: Am I going to spend my life climbing, or am I going to follow Jesus?

Have you ever felt like you've let God down? Maybe anger got the best of you, an old habit returned, or you made a decision you regret. In those moments, guilt and shame can leave us wondering, What does God think about me now? Does He still want me?

In this message from the Gospel of Mark, we join Jesus and His disciples on the night He shared the Passover meal with them. Jesus knew what was coming—one disciple would betray Him, another would deny Him, and the rest would scatter. Yet knowing all of that, Jesus still invited them to the table.

Through the Lord's Supper, Jesus gives His followers a powerful way to remember what He has done, renew our relationship with Him, and remember that we don't walk this journey alone. Communion reminds us of the grace at the heart of the gospel: no matter how far we've wandered, Jesus invites us back to the table.

Discover why Communion matters and how this simple meal continually draws us back to Jesus. There's a place at the table for you.