AVL City Church Podcast

ACCESS | Ask. Seek. Knock. You can be three feet away from something you desperately need and still not have access to it. You can see it. You can know it’s there. You can even need it desperately. But without access, proximity doesn't help you. That’s what makes Jesus’ words in Matthew 7:7 so powerful: “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to...

Few words of Jesus have been quoted more often and understood less. In Matthew 7:1-6, Jesus confronts our tendency to see everyone else’s problems while remaining blind to our own. He isn’t telling us to abandon discernment, ignore sin, or never speak truth. He is teaching us to examine ourselves before we presume to correct someone else. Jesus gives us a picture that is almost comical: someone wi...

What does it really mean to belong completely to Jesus? After 14 years of AVL City Church, we’re not just celebrating what God has done. We’re asking a deeper question: Do we still belong completely to Jesus? The Gospel doesn’t just tell you who you are. It tells you whose you are. Romans 6 reminds us that we have been freed from sin and brought into a new kind of belonging: belonging to God. Paul...

What kind of environment have you created for the presence of God? We often ask God to come closer. We pray for Him to move. We seek another encounter, another moment, another visitation. But what if God is asking a deeper question? I’m willing to come close, but have you built a life where I am welcome to stay? In this message, AT HOME, we explore Ephesians 2:19–22 and the biblical movement from...

Everybody’s got a front. There’s the Instagram version. The TikTok version. The church version. The work version. The family version. But what happens when life doesn’t go your way? In Matthew 5:33 -48, Jesus moves beneath the surface and exposes what our words, reactions, relationships, and responses reveal about our character. He confronts religious loopholes, manipulative speech, retaliation, c...

LOOPHOLES: Following Jesus When Obedience Isn’t Convenient What if the biggest danger to your faith isn’t rebellion but finding a loophole? In Matthew 5:31–32, Jesus confronts divorce, but His teaching reaches far beyond marriage. He exposes something deeper: the human tendency to look for the minimum requirement necessary to justify what we already want. The world asks, “What can I get away with?...

How does someone end up destroying their marriage, ministry, or future? Jesus answers that question by exposing where sin really begins, not in our actions, but in our hearts. In this episode, we unpack Matthew 5:27-30 and discover the anatomy of temptation, the power of the imagination, and why every outward failure begins with an inward affection. You’ll learn how Scripture, neuroscience, and th...

Does God see me? It’s one of the most honest questions a person can ask. When prayers seem unanswered, life doesn’t go according to plan, and the future feels uncertain, it’s easy to wonder if God has forgotten you. In this message from Proverbs 3:5-6 , we discover that faith isn’t about having every answer,it’s about trusting the character of God when you can’t understand His plan. We’ll explore...

Anger is rarely the real problem. It’s often the symptom of something much deeper. In this message from Matthew 5:21 -26, Jesus takes the sixth commandment beyond outward behavior and exposes the condition of the heart. Murder doesn’t begin with an act, it begins with unresolved anger, contempt, bitterness, and a refusal to forgive. We’ll explore the progression from hurt to anger, resentment, bit...

Jesus said, “I did not come to abolish the Law… but to fulfill it.” What did He mean? In this message from Matthew 5:17-20, we explore one of the most misunderstood statements in the entire Sermon on the Mount. Jesus confronts two kinds of people religion often produces: the self-righteous who believe they’ve done enough, and the exhausted who believe they’ll never be enough. The gospel speaks to...

What did Jesus really mean when He called His followers the salt of the earth and the light of the world? In this message from Matthew 5:13–16, we discover that these are far more than inspiring metaphors, they are Kingdom identities. Building on the Beatitudes, Jesus shows that true discipleship moves from inner transformation to public witness. Salt preserves, purifies, flavors, and remains dist...

What if Jesus never intended salt and light to be merely about influence? What if these two powerful images are actually about identity, holiness, covenant, and the visible presence of God in the earth? In Matthew 5:13, Jesus looks at a group of ordinary people, fishermen, laborers, farmers, widows, and the overlooked and makes one of the most shocking declarations in human history: “You are the s...

Blessed: The Counter-Cultural Path to Flourishing What if everything culture calls success is leaving people empty? We live in the most connected generation in history, yet loneliness is rising. We have more entertainment, more influence, more opportunities, and more ways to build a personal brand than any generation before us. Yet beneath the success, many people are quietly asking: “If I achieve...

What happens when God truly changes a person? Jesus teaches that spiritual transformation doesn’t stop with what happens inside of us, it eventually changes how we live, love, serve, forgive, and respond to the world around us. In Part 2 of our study through the Beatitudes, we move from the inner life of the Kingdom to the outward expression of Kingdom character. The first four Beatitudes reveal h...

AVL City Church is a movement that exists to inspire you to discover your Maker and all you are made for. #AsYouGoGodThroughYou ----------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------- Become part of the movement financially. Any amount helps us to reach people all around the world with the Gospel of Jesus Christ because as you give, God through you! To give,...

here’s a difference between being in the crowd around Jesus… and becoming someone who carries His authority. In Luke 6:17–19, crowds gathered from everywhere to hear Jesus, be healed, and encounter the power flowing from Him. The sick were restored. Demons were driven out. Lives were transformed. But not everyone in the crowd became a disciple. And not every disciple stepped into being sent. This...

One of the greatest lies the enemy tells believers is this: Wait until you’re better… then God can use you. Wait until your prayer life is stronger. Wait until your marriage is healed. Wait until your finances improve. Wait until your confidence grows. Wait until your theology is cleaner. Wait until you stop struggling. But Heaven says something completely different: I call you first… then I shape...

What happens when holiness is used as a weapon instead of a pathway to God? In this powerful and thought-provoking message from Luke 6:1–11, we explore a moment where Jesus confronts a religious system that looked alive on the outside, but had lost the heart of God on the inside. The Pharisees knew Scripture, honored tradition, and guarded the law… yet completely missed God standing right in front...

Jesus didn’t drift out of the grave like a myth. He was executed publicly. Verified dead. Buried behind a sealed stone with armed guards. And everyone thought it was over. But three days later… the tomb was empty. This isn’t just a story about something that happened. It’s a claim about what’s possible right now. In this message, we break down the resurrection through three lenses: • Inspiring: fo...

Jesus walks up to a tax collector, drops two words “Follow Me” and everything changes. In this episode, we collide three gospel perspectives (Matthew, Mark, Luke) and uncover a reality most people avoid: • Jesus will meet you in your mess • Call you in a moment • And ask for your whole life in return This isn’t surface-level faith. This is immediate obedience, total surrender, and uncomfortable tr...

In this powerful teaching from Luke 5, we see a faith that refuses to be stopped. When obstacles blocked the way, four men tore through a roof to get their friend to Jesus, revealing that real faith is visible, persistent, and willing to disrupt the ordinary. But Jesus does something unexpected. Before healing the man’s body, He forgives his sins, showing that our deepest need isn’t physical, but...

What does it really mean to belong to a church? In this episode, we unpack the heart behind covenant partnership, not as a system or structure, but as a biblical commitment to live, grow, and build together. For many, church has felt transactional, optional, or even painful due to past experiences. But covenant partnership reframes it as something deeper: spiritual family with shared responsibilit...

VISION + VALUES  VISION: As You Go, God Through You. MATTHEW 28:17–20 ISV When they saw him, they worshipped him, though some had doubts. Then Jesus approached them and told them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore, as you go, disciple people in all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to obey everythi...

If prayer is just something you do at church… it will always feel optional. But if prayer becomes a  core value , it becomes the  oxygen of your life . In this message from John 15:1–8, we unpack what Jesus really meant when He said,  “Abide in Me.”  This isn’t about religious routine, it’s about  living in constant union with Christ , where prayer flows naturally and powerfully. In this teaching,...

Prayer isn’t just something you do—it’s how you live, move, and stay connected to God. In this teaching, we break down 9 powerful types of prayer every disciple needs to grow in their walk with Jesus. From secret prayer to intercession, from repentance to thanksgiving, this isn’t about religious routine, it’s about real relationship If you’ve ever felt stuck, distracted, or unsure how to pray… thi...