New City Church | St. Augustine

In today’s sermon, Pastor Trent Griffith continues in the series "The Center of it All" going verse by verse through the book of Ephesians. In the message "How to Respect Your Husband", we see that God gives husbands and wives different commands in marriage because He knows what each needs most. Husbands are called to love, while wives are called to respect, and both commands address the areas where each naturally struggles. Biblical submission is not weakness or inferiority. It is a wife aligning her strength and wisdom to help her husband become the spiritual leader God has called him to be. Respect is rocket fuel for a husband's leadership, giving him the confidence to step up when he is filled with self-doubt. There are five practical ways a wife can show respect: acceptance, assistance, admiration, adaptability, and availability. Marriage is ultimately a picture of Christ and the church, and when both spouses move toward each other in obedience to God's design, the gospel becomes visible to the world around them.

In today’s sermon, Pastor Trent Griffith continues in the series "The Center of it All" going verse by verse through the book of Ephesians. In the message "How to Love Your Wife", Ephesians 5 gives husbands a clear and challenging picture of what it means to truly love their wives, and at the center of it all is Jesus Christ. Submission, as described in Ephesians 5:21, is not weakness. It means coming alongside someone to help them win. A husband is called to love his wife the way Christ loves the church: pursuing her, purifying her with truth, and helping her flourish into everything God created her to be. He is also called to love her as he loves himself, nourishing and cherishing her with his time, attention, affection, and presence. When love and respect break down, a destructive cycle begins, but either person can break it by choosing to act first. Ultimately, a husband cannot love his wife this way on his own strength. It flows from a man who has been captured by the love of Jesus and is living out of that reality every day.

In today’s sermon, Pastor Trent Griffith continues in the series "The Center of it All" going verse by verse through the book of Ephesians. In the message "Under the Influence", Every believer is commanded to be filled with the Holy Spirit, and this command is the foundation for every other aspect of the Christian life. Being filled is not a one-time event but a continuous, daily process of surrendering to His influence. Just as wine controls and changes a person, the Holy Spirit seeks to control and transform us from the inside out. Anything we run to apart from Him, whether substances, social media, work, or comfort, will ultimately leave us empty. The Spirit-filled life produces wisdom, song, and a heart that genuinely desires to serve others. Getting filled is not something we achieve but something we receive, through confession, faith, and immersing ourselves in the ordinary means of grace. And because we leak, we return to Him again and again.

When life falls apart, most of us struggle to know how to pray. Psalm 13 offers a four-part pattern that is honest, bold, and deeply comforting for anyone walking through a hard season. David models what it looks like to turn to God completely, complain to Him honestly, pray to Him boldly, and trust Him continually. These are not steps in a formula but movements in a real relationship with God. Lament is not a sign of weak faith. It is actually one of the most faithful things a person can do. God does not need us to clean up our prayers before bringing them to Him. He welcomes our raw, unfiltered honesty and meets us in it. Whatever you are carrying right now, Psalm 13 is an invitation to bring it all to Him.

In today’s sermon, Pastor Trent Griffith continues in the series "The Center of it All" going verse by verse through the book of Ephesians. In the message "God's Nightlight". There is a battle running through all of Scripture, from Genesis to Revelation, and it is the battle between darkness and light. Every believer is caught up in that story right now. Ephesians 5:7-14 reminds us that we were not simply near the darkness before Christ. We were the darkness. But because of what He has done, that is no longer true. Now we are light in the Lord, and the call is simply to act like it. Walking in the light means pursuing truth, righteousness, and goodness in a way that makes the gospel look genuinely good to the people around us. Light does not just expose darkness. It transforms it. The world is waiting for Christians who know how to live, suffer, give, and love in a way that makes people wish the gospel were true because they can already see that it is good.

In today’s sermon, Pastor Trent Griffith continues in the series "The Center of it All" going verse by verse through the book of Ephesians. In the message "When Sex Kills Love". God designed sex to be a powerful, bonding force within the covenant of marriage, but when it is used outside of His design, it erodes the very love it was meant to strengthen. Ephesians 5:1-7 calls believers to walk in love the way Christ loved us, which is self-sacrificing and others-focused rather than self-serving. Sexual immorality, impurity, and even the casual normalizing of sexual sin through humor all work against the kind of love God intends for us. Sexual sin is also connected to idolatry, placing a created thing above the Creator. The people we walk with matter deeply, because community either pulls us toward purity or away from it. No matter what the past holds, there is grace, restoration, and a fresh start available through Christ.

In today’s sermon, Pastor Trent Griffith continues in the series "The Center of it All" going verse by verse through the book of Ephesians. In the message "Learn to Forgive", Hurt is a universal human experience, but bitterness is not inevitable. Bitterness is a root problem that grows when wounds go untreated and forgiveness is withheld. Based on Ephesians 4:31-32, we are called to put off bitterness and put on kindness, tenderheartedness, and forgiveness. Forgiveness is not a feeling but a choice, and it means canceling the penalty of an offense every time the memory resurfaces. Just as Christ absorbed the full cost of our sin on the cross, we are called to absorb the cost of what others have done to us. Gratitude for God's sovereignty and a deep awareness of the grace we have received are what make that kind of forgiveness possible. Hurt is inevitable in this broken world, but bitterness does not have to be.

In today’s sermon, "Onward", God's call to His people has always been to move forward, not to stay comfortable. Drawing from Joshua chapter one, five key truths emerge for every believer: stepping into new territory, living with courage, being transformed by God's Word, serving others in community, and embracing a mission to the world around us. Just as God promised His presence to Joshua, He promises the same to every follower of Jesus today. The greatest giants we face are often internal, things like comfort, idleness, and fear, and only God's strength is sufficient to overcome them. Meditating on Scripture is not a passive exercise but a deep, transforming process that reshapes the heart from the inside out. Jesus is the true and better Joshua, the One who leads His people into new territory and gives them everything they need to follow Him faithfully.

In today’s sermon, Clint Hendry preaches the message "Keep Yourself in His Love", Many Christians know about God's love intellectually but struggle to experience it daily. The book of Jude teaches that while believers are already kept secure by God's power, we have a responsibility to position ourselves to experience His love. Jude provides three practical ways to keep ourselves in God's love: building ourselves up in the faith by mastering gospel content, praying in the Holy Spirit by aligning our prayers with God's will, and waiting for Christ's return with anticipation. Just as we must step outside to feel the sun's warmth, we must intentionally position ourselves to experience the love that's already ours in Christ.

In today’s sermon, Pastor Trent Griffith continues in the series "The Center of it All" going verse by verse through the book of Ephesians. In the message "Watch Your Mouth", Words carry tremendous power to either build up or tear down others. Paul teaches in Ephesians 4:29-30 that our speech should edify rather than corrupt, fitting the occasion and giving grace to hearers without grieving the Holy Spirit. Our word problems stem from heart problems, as Jesus said the mouth speaks from the heart's abundance. Before speaking, we should ask four key questions: Do my words build up? Do they fit this occasion? Do they give grace? Do they please God? Corrupting words include criticism, cynicism, harshness, profanity, and even harmful silence. Grace-giving words affirm, encourage, and enable others to become who God called them to be.