The pandemic has been easy for some, but also very difficult for others. Perhaps you've felt a sudden loss of control in your life, or all the remote relationships and time alone have caused you to question your identity. This week, Pastor Ulysses preaches about how sometimes the crises of our lives can become catalysts for the gospel. Paul encountered many obstacles, persecution, and imprisonment. Yet, these difficulties became opportunities for him to further the gospel. Pastor Ulysses encourages us to not miss any opportunities that God may be giving us in the midst of struggle.

We all want to become better people, and as Christians we typically lean on spiritual experiences to drive this growth. However, evil and sin are real factors that live in our hearts, and choosing to ignore these will always hold us back from living out good, godly lives. Today, Pastor Ulysses preaches from 1 Corinthians 10 on the importance of purposefully fleeing temptation and idolatry, and how by allowing God to have full influence of our hearts, we can truly change as people for the better.

During the days of the pandemic life as we know it changed. For believers the mission of God to reach people with the gospel hasn’t changed but how to do it in these changing seasons may feel really uncertain. How do we press on?

God has always been about the business of gathering a family to Himself. This family is designed to walk in deep love and commitment to each other in the pursuit of knowing God and making him known. The last year has been a real struggle in how believers connect and for many it’s been hard to develop real authentic relationships. Now that life is moving back toward normal we may find ourselves out of practice. What does it look like to walk in the light together as we press into Jesus.

Often soldiers who are deployed and spend a season (6-18 months) isolated from community and under threat of danger experience ptsd. A symptom of ptsd is often emotional numbness. As we emerge from the trauma of social isolation and the very real threat of physical suffering I wonder if some of us feel emotionally numb in our personal relationship with Christ. How do we combat this numbness? How do we press in to find the intimacy Jesus has for us?

The relationship with our fathers is often seen as analogous to our relationship with God, the one true Father for all. Today, as we celebrate Father's Day in America, Pastor Ulysses invites us to reflect on the characteristics of fatherhood in the context of our faith in Jesus, and how by modeling fatherhood after God's Fatherhood, we can help show the love of God to our children.

Where are you invested? In stocks and bonds or in the kingdom of God? In the final message in our series on heavenly reward, Pastor Ulysses teaches that while money and possessions in this life will not stay with us after we die, heavenly treasure will last for eternity. Where we invest our material possessions reveals what we really care about. When our focus is on heavenly things, we live in a way that brings light to the world.

We live in a reality where earthly rewards often drive the "why" behind what we do in life, but as Christians who aspire to live as God intended, what does that mean for us? In Luke 14, Jesus says: "when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed". This week, Pastor Ulysses' sermon centers around the idea of doing for those who can't give back, with the understanding that although these deeds come with no earthly retribution, the biggest prize comes from our God who is watching above.

Why do we follow Jesus? As Christians, we often feel that we should do so solely because of His sacrifice on the cross and its implications in this world, but another very real motivation is the fact that we get to spend eternal life in heaven with Jesus. But is it bad to follow Jesus with this kind of rewards-based thinking? This week, Pastor Ulysses preaches about to view heavenly rewards as one of multiple motivations for following Jesus, and how the fact that God rewards those commensurate to their obedience should drive us to earnestly pursue Jesus in every aspect of our lives.

In Matthew 23, Jesus says to do everything the Pharisees tell you to do. Why is this, when he also often rebukes and criticizes them? It wasn't that the content of their teaching was incorrect or particularly bad. Jesus rebukes the Pharisess because they do not live according to what they preach. This week, Pastor Ulysses teaches about the effects of this hypocrisy: people develop an incongruency between their public and private lives, striving to look good and be exalted in the eyes of others. He reminds us that Christians can live humbly without validation from the world, knowing that God sees those who serve in secret.