Radiant Church Weekend Sermon

Today as we look across the landscape of Western culture, is it possible that we have an incomplete view of what it means to truly “follow Jesus?” DISCIPLE will define and distinguish the difference what it means to be a disciple of Jesus vs. a casual Christian and help each of us find the road forward as a disciple.

In Week 3 of DISCIPLE, Tim Matthews delivers his first sermon at Radiant Church and speaks on the need to want to be more like Jesus. If Jesus came up to you and asked what you wanted, what would your answer be? Don't miss this electrifying word from our church-wide series!

Focus Scriptures

Psalm 73:25-26 (ESV)
“Whom have I in heaven but you? And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.”

Matthew 5:6 (ESV)
“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.”

John 6:15 (ESV)
“Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst.”

Sermon Highlights

If Jesus came up and asked us what we want, our answer needs to be WE WANT YOU.

If Jesus didn’t reject you then, He won’t reject you now.

You won’t become like Jesus if you don’t like Jesus.

God transforms our hearts so that we can love Him and walk according to His ways.

God sanctifies, trains, redeems, and purifies, so that we can be blameless when we stand before Him.

It takes God to love God.

When you pray, “God help me love you more,” He’s up in heaven saying, I’m already doing it.

The church is not only the bride of Christ, but it is also the BODY of Christ.

When God said IT IS FINISHED, it didn’t mean that HE IS FINISHED moving and working in our lives.

Today as we look across the landscape of Western culture, is it possible that we have an incomplete view of what it means to truly “follow Jesus?” DISCIPLE will define and distinguish the difference what it means to be a disciple of Jesus vs. a casual Christian and help each of us find the road forward as a disciple.

In Week 2’s sermon titled, The Cost of Not Following Jesus, Pastor Lee reads the story of the rich, young ruler from Luke. We learn about obstacles we run into when following Jesus, along with what we can do to stay the course.

Focus Scripture // Luke 18:18-25 (ESV)

“And a ruler asked him, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” 19 And Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone. 20 You know the commandments: ‘Do not commit adultery, Do not murder, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Honor your father and mother.’” 21 And he said, “All these I have kept from my youth.” 22 When Jesus heard this, he said to him, “One thing you still lack. Sell all that you have and distribute to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.” 23 But when he heard these things, he became very sad, for he was extremely rich. 24 Jesus, seeing that he had become sad, said, “How difficult it is for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God! 25 For it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.”

Sermon Highlights

Jesus knew the rich, young rulers intention when he was asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?”

There’s several things that keep us from seeing Jesus:
1. Wealth and the lure of money
2. Youth and our sense of endless potential
3. A Ruler with power and position

You cannot serve God and money.

What Jesus will call you to give up may be significantly different than what you’re expecting.

What you have now may last for a moment, but won’t be there in eternity.

Are you willing to pay the price to follow Jesus?

Jesus wants your absolute surrender.

The price of following Jesus is losing what you have now. The prize of following Jesus is eternity.

Today as we look across the landscape of Western culture, is it possible that we have an incomplete view of what it means to truly “follow Jesus?” DISCIPLE will define and distinguish the difference what it means to be a disciple of Jesus vs. a casual Christian and help each of us find the road forward as a disciple.

In Week 1’s sermon titled, Come and You Will See, Pastor Lee dives into John 1 and introduces the question, “what does it mean to be a disciple of Jesus?”

Focus Scripture // John 1:35-51 (ESV)

Sermon Highlights

A disciple = one who finds, follows, and is becoming fully formed to be like Jesus.

Who do you follow?

Who have you become disciples of?

Are you a fan or a follower of Jesus?

“The church changes the world not by making converts, but by making disciples.” - John Wesley

What does it mean to become a disciple of Jesus? It’s answering the question, “what are you seeking?”

Difference between being a cultural Christian and a disciple:

1. A cultural Christian believes because its convenient. A disciple believes because its true.

2. A cultural Christian is shaped more by the ways of culture. A disciple submits to the process of being fully formed to Jesus and His Way.

3. A cultural Christian enjoys the benefits of the Cross. A disciple willingly embraces the sacrifices of the Cross.

4. A cultural Christian reads the Bible as a menu. A disciple reads the Bible as a mandate.

5. A cultural Christian sees Jesus as an “add on” to their already good life. A disciple sees Jesus as the only true way of life.

6. A cultural Christian feels “at home” in this world. A disciple is a sojourner that is in pursuit of a Kingdom to come.

7. A cultural Christian acknowledges Jesus. A disciple obeys Jesus.

8. A cultural Christian is a fan of Jesus. A disciple is a follower of Jesus.

In this stand-alone sermon from Jon Zondervan, we dive into what may be the biggest answer to so many problems in our world today: kindness.

Focus Scripture // Ephesians 4:29-32 (NKJV)
“Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers. 30 And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. 31 Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice. 32 And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you.”

Sermon Highlights

God is going to use radical kindness to bring people together.

It’s going to take courage to be kind.

Let kindness work from the inside out.

Put everything through the “truth in love” filter.

Show kindness to those who don’t deserve it.

Kindness will change the world.

See kindness the way that God sees it.

The answer to many of the questions and problems in our world is one simple thing: kindness.

The things you get busy with will not last in eternity – your prayers will. In the final week of our Revolutionary Faith series, Lee Cummings speaks on prayer and the unlimited access that each of us have to it.

Focus Scripture // James 5:13-18 (ESV)
“Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing praise. 14 Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. 15 And the prayer of faith will save the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. 16 Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working. 17 Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed fervently that it might not rain, and for three years and six months it did not rain on the earth. 18 Then he prayed again, and heaven gave rain, and the earth bore its fruit.”

Sermon Highlights

“He who knows how to overcome with God in prayer has heaven and earth at his disposal.” - Charles Spurgeon

Prayer should be our first response, not our last resort.

Prayer is not an event, it’s a lifestyle.

Jesus called us to pray without ceasing.

Effective prayer is not dependent upon your nature, but Gods.

Don’t underestimate what God will do if we pray.

Prayer is a weapon in the arsenal of every believer.

2 Corinthians 10:3-4 (ESV)
“For though we walk in the flesh, we are not waging war according to the flesh. 4 For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds.”

John 14:13-14 (ESV)
“Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. 14 If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it.”

It’s not your righteousness that gives you access, it’s Jesus’ righteousness that qualifies you to ask in His name.

Don’t pray once and give up. Too often we allow ourselves to become distracted. Stay the course. Don’t stop praying.

What we do today determines our harvest tomorrow. As we approach the end of our Revolutionary Faith series, Lee Cummings delivers a timely word on our role here on earth while we anxiously await the return of Jesus.

Focus Scripture // James 5:7-11 (ESV)
“Be patient, therefore, brothers, until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, being patient about it, until it receives the early and the late rains. 8 You also, be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand. 9 Do not grumble against one another, brothers, so that you may not be judged; behold, the Judge is standing at the door. 10 As an example of suffering and patience, brothers, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. 11 Behold, we consider those blessed who remained steadfast. You have heard of the steadfastness of Job, and you have seen the purpose of the Lord, how the Lord is compassionate and merciful.”

Sermon Highlights

We don’t want the kingdom without the king.

Our hope is not anchored to this world, but to the one that Jesus will bring.

Our responsibility is to align our heart with our hope.

Labor like it matters.
Sow into the future.
Pray for the latter rain.
Trust in the purpose of the Lord.

You can’t quarantine your heart.

God is calling us to live our lives with a prophetic imagination.

Believe in the power of sowing.

The Lord will have the final word.

God is not going to send the rains onto fallowed ground.

When Jesus steps into the room, all fall down.

Nothing will get more attention than the compassion and mercy of God.

The only thing withholding Jesus is his patience.

2 Peter 3:9 (ESV)
“The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.”

His patience is rooted because He sees 8 million souls across the planet who need His presence.

The gift of today matters – it matters because eternity matters. In this sermon from Lee Cummings, we focus on the importance of today. Not yesterday or tomorrow, but the moment we’re in right now. What are you going to do with this moment?

To learn more about Radiant Church and to watch more videos like this one, visit www.radiant.church.

Focus Scripture // James 4:13-17 (ESV)

“Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit”— 14 yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. 15 Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.” 16 As it is, you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil. 17 So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin.”

Sermon Highlights

A proper perspective of time and eternity affects the way that we live today.

James is challenging the “self-contained certainty” of those who have a lot of money and a lot of options.

The world is a mirage.

The gift of today matters.

Today matters because eternity matters.

There is one resource that every one of us has: time.

God is always speaking. Do you hear Him today?

Jesus told us that the greatest danger for the believer in the last days would be spiritual slumber and demonic intoxication with the spirit of the age.

Oftentimes, the thing that gets in the way of hearing God today is that we’re worried about yesterday or anxious about tomorrow.

‘What we do in this life echoes in eternity” - Maximus the Gladiator

The way we go higher in the Kingdom is by going lower in His presence. Lee Cummings returns from sabbatical to bring an important message on wisdom and humility.

Focus Scripture // James 3:13-4:10 (ESV)

“Who is wise and understanding among you? By his good conduct let him show his works in the meekness of wisdom. 14 But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast and be false to the truth. 15 This is not the wisdom that comes down from above, but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic. 16 For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there will be disorder and every vile practice. 17 But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere. 18 And a harvest of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.

1 What causes quarrels and what causes fights among you? Is it not this, that your passions are at war within you? 2 You desire and do not have, so you murder. You covet and cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel. You do not have, because you do not ask. 3 You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions. 4 You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. 5 Or do you suppose it is to no purpose that the Scripture says, “He yearns jealously over the spirit that he has made to dwell in us”? 6 But he gives more grace. Therefore it says, “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” 7 Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. 8 Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. 9 Be wretched and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. 10 Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you.”

Sermon Highlights

There are two wisdoms – worldly wisdom and wisdom from above.

As disciples of Jesus – it is an inherent danger that we will have an outward show of “faith” but inwardly, continue to be motivated by the same forces that ruined our soul.

Jesus said “I am the way, the truth, and the life.”

Don’t be a spiritual gold digger.

God longs for our allegiance and loyalty.

God is a jealous God.

The way we go higher in the Kingdom is by going lower in His presence.

God is looking for absolute surrender from us.

God's not looking for your effort – He's looking for your surrender. Don't miss this brand new sermon from Caleb Culver about the power of your words.

Focus Scripture // James 3:1-12 (ESV)

“Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness. 2 For we all stumble in many ways. And if anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is a perfect man, able also to bridle his whole body. 3 If we put bits into the mouths of horses so that they obey us, we guide their whole bodies as well. 4 Look at the ships also: though they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are guided by a very small rudder wherever the will of the pilot directs. 5 So also the tongue is a small member, yet it boasts of great things. How great a forest is set ablaze by such a small fire! 6 And the tongue is a fire, a world of unrighteousness. The tongue is set among our members, staining the whole body, setting on fire the entire course of life, and set on fire by hell. 7 For every kind of beast and bird, of reptile and sea creature, can be tamed and has been tamed by mankind, 8 but no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. 9 With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse people who are made in the likeness of God. 10 From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers, these things ought not to be so. 11 Does a spring pour forth from the same opening both fresh and salt water? 12 Can a fig tree, my brothers, bear olives, or a grapevine produce figs? Neither can a salt pond yield fresh water.”

Sermon Highlights

Consider the motivation

If anyone ever had a reason to speak, it was Jesus.

The motivation has to shift. It has to be about pleasing the Father.

Do you want to be seen and heard, or obedient?

God's not looking for your effort – He's looking for your surrender.

God loves the word IMPOSSIBLE. Through Him, all things are possible.

Faith without works is dead. Words without flow are dead.

We have a river of living water inside of us.

God is enthroned on our praises.

Your heavenly Father wants to hear YOUR VOICE.

In the third part of our Revolutionary Faith series, Jon Zondervan leads us through a pivotal topic within James chapter 2: discrimination amongst early-church believers based on their outward appearance and perceived social status. This biblical and encouraging message is a must-hear!

Focus Scripture // James 2:1-4 (ESV)
“My brothers, show no partiality as you hold the faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory. 2 For if a man wearing a gold ring and fine clothing comes into your assembly, and a poor man in shabby clothing also comes in, 3 and if you pay attention to the one who wears the fine clothing and say, “You sit here in a good place,” while you say to the poor man, “You stand over there,” or, “Sit down at my feet,” 4 have you not then made distinctions among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts?”

Sermon Highlights

Don’t let your heart grow cold.

The love of God is meant to flow out through us.

God is in the business of using unqualified people to advance His plan and purposes.

God sees the poor and his heart is moved toward them.

When you know you need, you lean on God.

God sees people differently than we do.

Don’t cozy up to the world – witness to it.

We need our world to experience the living God.

Who are the people in your life that you’ve shown judgement toward?