What if prayer was never meant to feel dry, boring, or burdensome?

In this special message, guest pastor Mark McGovern of EXP.church in San Francisco invites us to rediscover prayer as joyful communion with Jesus, the one who is always praying for us.

Mark shares how encountering the radiant joy of Jesus, the Shining One, transformed his understanding of prayer. Instead of simply talking at God, prayer becomes a life of listening, receiving, and joining Jesus in what He is already praying.

This message is a call to move from being people who occasionally pray to becoming men and women of prayer, marked by intimacy with God, bold expectation, and the joy of His presence.

True Christian community cannot exist without the Holy Spirit.

In the final week of our Community series, Jared Nassiff teaches from Acts 4 and the radical generosity of the early church. The first Christian community was marked by one heart and mind, bold witness to the resurrection, and a willingness to give so that there were no needy persons among them.

But this kind of community was not created by human effort, better programs, or stronger systems. It was formed by the Holy Spirit.

This message challenges us to move beyond consuming church and into contributing to the mission of Jesus. A Spirit-filled community is not known by how much it accumulates, but by how much it releases, gives away, and offers for the sake of others.

If we want the kind of community we see in Acts, we must be ready for the cost, and we must depend fully on the Spirit to form it among us.

Christian community is not built on convenience. It is built on covenant love.

In week three of our Community series, Pastor Ben explores Jesus’ command in John 13: “Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.” This kind of love is not sentimental, shallow, or easy to discard when relationships get difficult. It is the loyal, faithful, stubbornly committed love of God.

Through the biblical theme of khesed, God’s steadfast covenant love, this message shows how Jesus modeled a love that stays, serves, forgives, sacrifices, and remains faithful even when it costs something.

In a culture quick to cancel, ghost, block, and walk away, the church is called to become a covenantal community marked by reconciliation, loyalty, sacrifice, and love that points the world to Jesus.

Hospitality Is Not Entertaining. It Is Making Room.

In a lonely and divided world, Jesus practiced a surprisingly ordinary form of ministry: He ate with people.

In week two of our Community series, Pastor Patrick walks through Luke 5 and Luke 19 to show how Jesus used the table to welcome outsiders, sinners, strangers, and even enemies. The Pharisees were not mainly offended by Jesus’ theology. They were offended by His table.

This message explores why Christian hospitality is more than a clean house, a good meal, or a polished evening. It is intentionally creating safe space for friends, strangers, and enemies to experience the love and presence of Christ.

If you have ever felt lonely, overlooked, hesitant to invite people in, or unsure how to build deeper relationships, this sermon offers a simple but challenging invitation:

Open the door.
Make room.
Let people encounter Jesus at the table.

Scripture: Luke 5:27-32, Luke 19:1-10

Community Is Hard. So Why Do We Need It?

Most of us long for deep relationships, but the reality of community is often messier than the version we imagine. We want the friendship, belonging, and support. We just do not always want the inconvenience, vulnerability, and sacrifice that come with it.

In this opening message of our new Community series, Pastor Ben explores why Christian community is not merely a nice addition to the Christian life, but one of God's primary ways of forming His people. Beginning in Genesis, fulfilled at Pentecost, and embodied in the early church, Scripture tells the story of a God who rescues the world through a family.

Through Acts 2, we discover that healthy Christian community is:

• Gathered around the presence of God
• Formed in the way of Jesus
• Empowered by the Holy Spirit
• Committed to one another in love
• Sent outward on mission

If you have ever struggled to find your people, been disappointed by community, or wondered whether deep relationships are still possible in our modern world, this message offers a biblical vision worth pursuing.

Most people want the life of Jesus. Fewer people want the lifestyle of Jesus.

In this special Disciple Making Sunday message, Pastor Ben and Pastor Patrick explore Jesus' invitation to "Follow me" and challenge the idea that Christianity is merely about believing the right things.

What if spiritual formation is not automatic? What if every person is being shaped by something? And what would it look like to intentionally become the kind of person who is with Jesus, becomes like Jesus, and does what Jesus did?

This message casts a vision for discipleship that moves beyond information and toward transformation.

Presence Church exists to witness a Spirit-led disciple making movement in our churches and communities.

What if spiritual warfare is less about dramatic encounters with evil… and more about the quiet lies shaping your everyday life?

In the final message of our Ephesians series, Pastor Patrick explores Paul’s teaching on the Armor of God and why the deepest spiritual battles are often fought in the realm of identity, desire, fear, and truth.

This sermon unpacks:

• the ancient idea of “acedia” or spiritual restlessness
• how false beliefs quietly shape our lives
• why the enemy’s primary weapon is deception
• what the Armor of God actually means
• how abiding in Christ becomes our defense against despair, shame, and fear

The goal of the Christian life is not becoming strong enough on your own.

It is learning to stand firm in the faithful, finished work of Jesus.

Social media tells parents to protect their child’s emotions at all costs. Other voices say children simply need stricter discipline. The workplace rewards power, status, and control. Culture swings between permissiveness and domination, while families quietly wonder:

How are we actually supposed to lead people well?

In Ephesians 6, Pastor Ben explores Paul’s teaching on children and parents, slaves and masters, and what it means to live under the rule of Jesus in everyday relationships.

• This sermon unpacks:
• Why “submit to one another” is the foundation for Christian relationships
• What healthy authority actually looks like
• The difference between control and Christlike leadership
• How parents can nourish children into maturity instead of provoking them
• Why our culture struggles with power, hierarchy, and identity
• How the Gospel slowly undermined slavery and human domination from the inside out
• Why every person carries eternal dignity and significance in the kingdom of God

This message ultimately points to a better kind of humanity.

One where power is used to serve.
Where authority is shaped by love.
Where even the lowliest person can live a life of eternal significance.

Because in the kingdom of Jesus, greatness is not found in domination.

It is found in surrender, service, and love.

In a world caught between #TradWives on one side and the #Manosphere on the other, how should Christians think about marriage, gender roles, and leadership in the home?

With cultural controversy all around us, Pastor Ben unpacks the often-misunderstood passage about submission in marriage, showing how Paul subverts worldly power dynamics with a radical call to mutual, voluntary submission out of reverence for Christ.

You'll discover what biblical headship really means, why husbands are called to sacrificial, Christ-like love, and how both husbands and wives are invited into a beautiful rhythm of respect, servanthood, and mission together. Whether you’re married, single, or somewhere in between, this message offers hope, clarity, and a fresh vision for relationships that point people to Jesus.

This Mother’s Day sermon is both bold and encouraging, a reminder that in the chaos of cultural confusion, the gospel still offers the best way forward.

What you’re exposed to changes you.

In Ephesians 5, Paul draws a hard line between darkness and light. He contrasts the self-indulgent lifestyle of your former life with the self-sacrificial example of Jesus.

Pastor Ben unpacks how sexual immorality, greed, and careless speech aren’t random sins, they’re distortions of our deepest desires.

This message gets honest about:

• Why our culture is so inconsistent on sexuality
• How lust and greed quietly work together
• Why self-indulgence always leaves damage behind
• What it actually means to “walk in the light”
• How your identity as a child of God changes everything

This is not about behavior management. It’s about living as dearly loved children walking in the way of love.

You were once darkness. Now you are light.