Verve City Church: Weekly Messages

What images come to mind when you hear the word "heaven?" Walking on clouds? Streets of gold? Gates of pearl? Perhaps Saint Peter offering you an entrance exam? Our "heavenly" imaginations have been shaped by all kinds of inputs over the years. So what did Jesus actually teach about heaven, resurrection, eternal life, and the Kingdom of God? And what if the hope he offered was considerably bigger than simply “going to heaven when you die”?

Few things bother us quite like watching someone else get something we don’t think they’ve earned. We keep track of who worked harder, who sacrificed more, who followed the rules — and we expect the outcome to reflect it.

Jesus once told a story about a group of workers who put in very different amounts of work but walked away with exactly the same pay. Spoiler alert: not everyone was happy about it.

This week, we’ll explore what this deliberately unfair-feeling story reveals about generosity, comparison, and why someone else getting more doesn’t have to mean that we received less.

We love dividing the world into categories: good people and bad people, people who get it and people who don’t, people God must be pleased with and people who clearly need some work.

This week, we’ll discover why grace may be much bigger, more surprising, and more communal than we usually imagine and what that means for the kind of people Jesus is inviting us to become. 

Our culture is remarkably good at teaching us to want the next thing. Another purchase. Another achievement. Another experience. Another version of ourselves.

Jesus once told a tiny story about a man who spent his life searching for valuable things...until he found one thing so valuable that it changed the value of everything else.

This week, we’ll explore what happens when we stop asking what we want next and start asking a much bigger question: What do I actually want most?

We tend to associate significance with what is visible, measurable, impressive, and growing. We look for God in dramatic moments, successful organizations, extraordinary people, and unmistakable spiritual experiences.

Jesus points instead to a woman making bread.

Perhaps the Kingdom is already at work in ordinary acts, ordinary people, ordinary relationships, and places we have learned to overlook.

We're headed to a galaxy far, far away for the last week of At the Movies to see The Last Jedi. Hear this shortened version of the message about keeping hope even when it feels hard.

This Sunday, we’re taking flight with Top Gun: Maverick! Join us as we discuss clips from the movie and explore what it means to lead the way to show someone that they can follow. 

 We're At the Movies! Due to copyright laws, we cannot livestream our full services. If you can, head to campus for the 9am or 11am service to see today's full message, snack on free popcorn, and enjoy the exciting experience in our lobby. 

In case you can't make it to campus today, here's a shortened version of the message we put together to give you a taste of the main event.

 

It's week two of At the Movies! 🎬 Did you miss Project Hail Mary on campus? Catch this shortened version of the message for a snapshot of the main event. We're At the Movies through Sept. 6, 2026. View the full lineup and plan your visit at vervecity.church/movies/ 

We're At the Movies! In case you were unable to make it to campus for Up, here's a shortened version of the message we put together to give you a taste of the main event. We're At the Movies through Sept. 6, 2026. View the full lineup and plan your visit at vervecity.church/movies/