Next Level Church - Charlotte

Most of us pray the same five-sentence prayer we learned as kids. Or we stopped praying because it felt like talking to the ceiling. We’re not sure if it works. We’re not sure anyone’s listening.

In this third message of our series, Sacred Rhythms: Practices for a Life That Works, Lead Pastor Clay Monkus shows that prayer isn’t a religious duty. It’s the primary way we stay connected to Jesus. You’ll leave with a fresh vision of prayer as conversation and a simple framework for making it the anchor of your day rather than a last resort.

This is Week 3 of Sacred Rhythms, a six-week series on the practices that make a life with God actually work.

Most of us have read the Bible as a duty or a search engine. We go looking for answers, skip the hard parts, and put it down unchanged. We know we should read it. We just don’t know how to let it actually get inside us.

In this second message of our series, Sacred Rhythms: Practices for a Life That Works, Pastor of Spiritual Formation Christian Nichles turns to Psalm 119:105 and Hebrews 4:12 to show that Scripture isn’t primarily information. It’s formation. It’s not a book to get through but a living word that reshapes who we are from the inside out.

Text: Psalm 119:105; Hebrews 4:12

This is Week 2 of Sacred Rhythms, a six-week series on the practices that make a life with God actually work.

We are the most distracted generation in human history. We fill every silence. We scroll before we pray. And then we wonder why God feels far. The noise isn’t just out there. It’s inside us.

In this opening message of our new series, Sacred Rhythms: Practices for a Life That Works, Lead Pastor Clay Monkus turns to Mark 1:35, the morning after the most productive day of Jesus’ ministry, to show that solitude isn’t about getting away from life. It’s about getting back to the Source of it. Silence isn’t empty. It’s where Jesus actually shows up.

Text: Mark 1:35

This is Week 1 of Sacred Rhythms, a six-week series on the practices that make a life with God actually work.

It's exhausting to fight chaos when it feels like it always wins eventually—another relapse, another blow-up, another year that didn't go the way you hoped.

In this final message of our series, Conquering Chaos, Lead Pastor Clay Monkus turns to Revelation 12 and Revelation 21:1–5, where chaos is completely gone—dragon included. That certain ending changes how we fight chaos today.

Text: Revelation 12; Revelation 21:1–5

The win this week: pick one specific area of chaos—a habit or a relationship pattern—and commit to fighting it for the next thirty days, anchored in the confidence that the outcome is already secure.

This is Week 4, the final message of Conquering Chaos, a series tracing God's fight against chaos through some of Scripture's most surprising stories.

We keep waiting to feel calm before we believe God is near. But the storm doesn't have to end before order shows up. Order can climb into the boat with us before the waves ever stop—while the wind is still howling and the boat is still taking on water.

In this third message of our series, Conquering Chaos, Lead Pastor Clay Monkus turns to Mark 4:35–41, where Jesus walks straight into a storm and the wind and waves obey him. He's the one all of creation has been waiting on the whole time.

Text: Mark 4:35–41

The win this week: name one unresolved situation and choose to rest inside it, the way Jesus slept through the storm, instead of white-knuckling it until it's over.

This is Week 3 of Conquering Chaos, a four-week series tracing God's fight against chaos through some of Scripture's most surprising stories.

We know what obedience would cost us, so we run quietly instead of dramatically—just enough to slip out of alignment. Then when the chaos hits, we call it bad luck rather than what it actually is: the natural result of stepping outside the line God drew.

In this second message of our series, Conquering Chaos, Teaching Pastor Christian Nichles turns to the book of Jonah to show that running from God's authority is one of the fastest ways to walk straight into chaos. Jonah does exactly this, and God chases him into a storm to bring him back.

Text: Jonah

The win this week: admit one place you've opted out of a structure meant to protect you—a marriage, a job, a recovery process, a church commitment—and take one honest step back into it.

This is Week 2 of Conquering Chaos, a four-week series tracing God's fight against chaos through some of Scripture's most surprising stories.

Your life probably doesn't feel like it's falling apart. It just feels like too much at once—a schedule with no breathing room, a relationship that keeps circling the same fight, a habit you can't seem to shake no matter how many times you've tried. That's chaos, and most of us have just learned to live inside it.

In this opening message of our new series, Conquering Chaos, Lead Pastor Clay Monkus turns to Genesis 1:1–2:3 to show that God's first move was turning mess into order. That's still exactly how he works today—order comes first, and peace shows up after, as the result.

Text: Genesis 1:1–2:3

The win this week: pick one area of disorder—a schedule or a habit—and put a real sequence back into it, before assuming you just need to relax more.

This is Week 1 of Conquering Chaos, a four-week series tracing God's fight against chaos through some of Scripture's most surprising stories.

Because of your faithful response to our family meeting this past July, we're excited to welcome Christian Nichles to our staff full-time as Pastor of Spiritual Formation.

In this special episode, Lead Pastor Clay Monkus interviews Christian to introduce him in his new role and celebrate what your generosity made possible.

Most people are carrying some version of this belief: that they're too much of a mess for God to actually be glad about them. That he tolerates them, maybe. That he forgives them, if they're lucky.

In this final message of our series, Seen: You Are Not As Invisible As You Feel, a book study through Zephaniah, Digital Pastor Bradley Medford turns to Zephaniah 3:9–20 to show that God's final move isn't judgment—it's celebration over the very people who thought they were too far gone.

Text: Zephaniah 3:9–20

The hope this week: Zephaniah 3:17 as a concrete promise, not just a nice sentiment, from a God who has been moving toward you the whole time. The series doesn't end where it started, in numbness and distance—it ends with a God who is not just present, but glad.

This is Week 5, the final message of Seen, a book study through Zephaniah for anyone who's wondered whether any of it matters and needs to hear that it does.

A lot of people have been let down by a leader, an institution, or a church. The wound is real, and it's shaped how much they trust—God included. When the people who were supposed to help you are the ones who hurt you, it's hard to know who's safe.

In this fourth message of our series, Seen: You Are Not As Invisible As You Feel, a book study through Zephaniah, Teaching Pastor Christian Nichles turns to Zephaniah 3:1–8 to show that God has a particular problem with leaders who use people instead of protecting them. He doesn't look the other way.

Text: Zephaniah 3:1–8

The reassurance this week: God's indictment of bad leadership is evidence that he sees what happened to you, and it matters to him. He's not defending the people who failed you—he's stepping in on your behalf.

This is Week 4 of Seen, a book study through Zephaniah for anyone who's wondered whether any of it matters and needs to hear that it does.