Are we really that bad? Aren’t some people better than others? In Romans 3:9-20, the Apostle Paul pulls no punches and places every single person, religious and rebellious, under the same verdict: guilty before a holy God. Quoting from the Old Testament, he shows that sin isn’t just something we do, it’s a condition we live under, affecting our hearts, our words, our paths, and ultimately our reverence for God.

This message confronts our tendency to compare, excuse, and justify ourselves. It reminds us that no one naturally seeks God, no one does good with pure motives, and no one stands righteous by their own effort, so that every mouth may be silenced and every heart prepared for grace.

In this message you’ll learn:

- Why being “better than others” is not the standard

- The difference between sinful actions and a sinful condition

- How our words reveal what rules our hearts

- Why the fear of God frees us from the fear of everything else

- How the law exposes guilt so grace can truly save

Does our sin cancel God’s faithfulness? If God is gracious, does sin even matter?

In Romans 3:1–8, Paul tackles the hardest questions about God’s justice, human failure, and the logic we use to justify ourselves. If everyone is guilty, is God unfair? If people don’t believe, has God failed? And if our sin highlights his grace, why not keep sinning?

This message exposes the subtle ways we argue with God and twist grace into permission. It reminds us that spiritual privilege doesn’t remove accountability, human unbelief doesn’t nullify God’s faithfulness, and grace is never a license to sin.

In this message you’ll learn:

    •    Why having the Bible increases responsibility

    •    Why human failure never cancels God’s faithfulness

    •    How bad theology leads to bad living

    •    Why God’s justice and mercy are not in conflict

In Romans 2, the Apostle Paul asks a confronting question: based on what does God judge a person?

In this message, we explore God’s objective moral standard and why both religious and irreligious people are accountable before Him. Paul shows that while some have the written law, others have the law written on their hearts through conscience, and yet no one lives up to the standard they know.

This passage exposes the danger of moral hypocrisy and false confidence in religious symbols, and it dismantles the idea that outward performance can save us. Romans 2 leads us to a clear verdict and points us to our only real hope: not moral effort, but redemption through Jesus Christ.

In this message, you’ll learn:

- What standard God actually uses to judge every person

- Why conscience means no one is without moral knowledge

- How religious effort can create false confidence and hypocrisy

- Why outward signs and performance can’t save

- Where real hope and redemption are found

Why does sexuality feel so confusing, painful, and loaded for so many people today?

In Romans 1:24-27, Scripture confronts one of the most difficult and misunderstood topics of our time, not to shame us, but to tell us the truth about what’s gone wrong and where real hope is found.

In this message, Pastor Kyle walks through this passage, showing that sexual brokenness is not selective, it’s universal. The Bible doesn’t single out certain people. It exposes a deeper human problem, disordered desires that flow from exchanging the truth about God for a lie.

Romans 1 helps us understand how desire, idolatry, and identity are connected, and how the Bible speaks to questions of sexuality, including same-sex attraction, with clarity and hope.

Rather than fueling self-righteousness or condemnation, this passage calls us to humility and compassion. It reminds us that every person needs grace, and no one is beyond the reach of the gospel.

This message is part of our ongoing series through the book of Romans at Two Cities Church.

If you’re wrestling with questions about sex, desire, identity, or faith, or walking with someone who is, this teaching is for you.

Why is our world in chaos? The breakdown we see in society is a direct result of a deeper spiritual problem: the depravity of the human mind.

In this message from Romans 1:28–2:11, Pastor Kyle shows how total depravity explains the breakdown of a society, and why the problem is not just “out there” in the obviously rebellious, but also “in here” among the religious and moral.

Paul says God “gave them up to a debased mind” (Romans 1:28), and from there sin spreads outward, breaking down the self, the family, the economy, and society. Then, in Romans 2, he turns the spotlight on those who judge others while practicing the same things, exposing our self-righteousness and reminding us that God “shows no partiality.”

This sermon will help you:

- Understand what a debased / depraved mind really is

- See how sin infects and affects every part of life

- Recognize four forms of self-righteousness (moralism, legalism, elitism, victimism)

- Marvel at God’s kindness and patience that lead us to repentance

- Run not to your own goodness, but to Christ as your only righteousness

Why does the idea of God’s wrath feel so offensive, and why does the Bible insist we can’t understand grace without it?

In Romans 1:18-25, Paul confronts one of the most avoided truths of the Christian faith: the wrath of God. Rather than contradicting God’s love, His wrath reveals His righteous and jealous commitment to what is good, true, and life-giving.

As Paul moves from the righteousness of God to humanity’s need for salvation, he shows that God’s wrath is not merely future—it is already being revealed. When people suppress the truth, exchange God’s glory for idols, and refuse to honor Him, God’s judgment is seen most clearly in what He allows: being given over to our desires and the slow unraveling that follows.

This passage exposes the root beneath our cultural confusion and personal brokenness. The problem is not ignorance, but rebellion. We know God, yet refuse to worship Him. We exchange the Creator for created things—and that exchange never leads to freedom, only futility, darkness, and dehumanization.

In this sermon from Romans 1:18–25, we see four sobering realities:

- God’s wrath is revealed and deserved—not arbitrary or unjust

- Humanity’s problem is moral, not intellectual—we suppress truth we already know

- Idolatry is the root of all sin, replacing the Creator with lesser loves

- Sin always dishonors God and destroys the sinner, even at the level of our bodies

Romans 1 presses us to stop making excuses, tell the truth about ourselves, and see why grace becomes glorious only when we understand the depth of our need.

In Romans 1:7-16, Paul reveals God’s vision for a church centered in Christ and strengthened by a gospel-shaped faith.

This message calls us to move beyond surface-level Christianity by grounding our identity in grace, cultivating meaningful Christian community, and recovering bold confidence in the power of the gospel. As that faith takes root, it fuels spiritual maturity, love for the church, and a clear commitment to reaching our city and the lost with unashamed faith.

In this sermon, we learn four ways to go deeper and be deeper:

- A deeper understanding of God’s love (grace that leads to peace)

- A deeper love for Christians and the church (gratitude, prayer, and community)

- A deeper love for the lost (living like gospel debtors with spiritual urgency)

- A deeper conviction in the power of the gospel (unashamed, because it’s God’s power to save)

As we begin Romans together, this message invites you to respond through prayer, worship, and renewed faith, asking God to make you the kind of person whose life is shaped by the gospel from faith for faith.

Pastor Kyle introduces the 2026 vision for Two Cities Church: Centered on God’s Word, Sent into God’s world.

Grounded in Romans 1:1–6, this message shows how vision begins with God and His Word, centers on the gospel of Jesus Christ, and leads to faith that becomes obedience. Pastor Kyle also unpacks why Romans is a uniquely formative book for the church, and why being “sent” starts with everyday faithfulness—living with purpose in your relationships, your neighborhood, and the nations.

This sermon calls the church to be formed before being sent—anchored in Scripture, empowered by grace, and moved to respond through worship, prayer, and mission for the sake of Jesus’ name.

Pastor Kyle walks through Luke 2:1-20, showing how God announces the birth of Jesus in an unexpected way to ordinary, overlooked shepherds in the middle of the night. Set against the power of Caesar and the noise of a busy world, this passage reveals that God’s good news doesn’t arrive through strength, status, or spectacle, but through humility, grace, and divine initiative.

This message invites us to slow down and reconsider what we are beholding this Christmas. In a world marked by fear, distraction, and broken peace, we are reminded that true joy flows from good news, real peace comes from giving God glory, and salvation is found not in what we do but in what Christ has done.

The Savior has come not to impress the powerful, but to rescue the lost. Jesus enters our darkness with light, our fear with joy, and our striving with grace, inviting us to behold Him, believe the good news, and live transformed lives marked by worship, peace, and praise.

In this message, we see:

- How God uses ordinary people and unexpected moments to reveal His greatest work

- Why the announcement of Jesus’ birth is good news—not good advice

- The difference between temporary happiness and lasting joy rooted in the gospel

- How beholding Christ shapes who we are becoming

- Why Jesus enters the mess of our world rather than avoiding it

- How God’s upside-down kingdom welcomes outsiders and the forgotten

- Why glory to God and peace for humanity are inseparably connected

Pastor Spencer walks through Matthew 2:1-15, tracing the very different responses to the birth of Jesus, from worship to hostility, from joy to indifference. As the wise men search for the newborn King, King Herod responds with fear and resistance, revealing that while there are many ways to reject Jesus, there is only one way to truly receive Him.

This message invites us to examine our own hearts and consider how we respond to Jesus as King. In a world marked by grief, power struggles, and uncertainty, we are reminded that God is near, His purposes are unfolding, and darkness does not get the final word.

In this message, we see:

- How God draws all kinds of people to Himself using all kinds of circumstances

- Why many reject Jesus—not only through open hostility, like Herod, but through quiet indifference

- The tension we feel when Jesus’ kingship confronts our desire for control

- Why Scripture is essential for truly knowing where God is leading us

- What it looks like to receive Jesus by faith through joy, worshipful submission, and generosity

- How the gifts of the wise men point not only to a King, but to a Savior who would suffer and die in our place

- This sermon reminds us that although grief, opposition, and suffering are real, death and darkness do not have the final word. Jesus, the true and better King, entered our broken world not to take power—but to give His life, inviting us to receive Him by faith.