Aletheia Church, Providence RI

When David had an opportunity to take his destiny into his own hands, he refused. How did David know what was an opportunity from the Lord as opposed to an opportunity to refuse? Faith.

The story of Moses and the Red Sea is well known. What’s less well known is that God intentionally led Israel into what looked like a hopeless situation. What did Moses’s and Israel’s faith look like in action in this very scary situation?

Abraham is held up as the example of faith by the biblical authors. But that doesn’t mean it always came easily. In Genesis 15 Abram has an emotionally charged encounter with the Lord, yet comes away from it with greater faith than he had before.

What do you do when following Jesus looks like losing to the world? Certain Corinthians thought Paul seemed like a loser, but he writes to remind them that they’re thinking of the entire “game” in the wrong way. He tells them why following Jesus is better and how they can stay the course.

We’re the wealthiest, most powerful, most technologically advanced generation in the history of the world… and the loneliest. God said it it’s not good for a person to be alone. In this sermon, Pastor Adam Mabry explores why it’s difficult and so important that we live as individuals in community.

We are all multi-faceted beings—body, soul, spirit. But what happens when those facets don’t play nice together? This sermon explores the interaction of these components and how Jesus helps align the components of our personality to be truly human.

The serpent was able to convince Adam and Eve that their identities were deficient. When the Bible says that those who are in Christ are a new creation, it means that Christians have all the identity they could ever need. This sermon explores what it means to be a new creation.

We take our thoughts about ourselves into every situation and relationship. Something shapes those thoughts, for better or worse. God has spoken words that can shape our identity and free us to be truly human. In this sermon, we look at Genesis 1 and what it means that humans are made in God’s image.

When Thomas encountered Jesus, he went from being a total skeptic to a total believer. How is it possible for us to have a Thomas-like experience without seeing the risen Jesus? In this sermon, Pastor Justin explains how it’s possible, and why it’s actually better than what Thomas experienced.

Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a colt while his disciples cried out, “Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord!” The way Jesus chose to arrive in Jerusalem says something specific about who he is and what his arrival requires of us.

(Apologies that there is no video for this sermon and that the audio starts late.) The book of Joel begins with a specific Day of the Lord and ends with a description of "the great and awesome day of the Lord." In this sermon, Pastor Justin unpacks what this Day is and what we must do about it.

We don’t know any details about Joel’s background except his name and his father’s name. We do know, however, that he faithfully brought the message of God’s grace to people who needed to hear it. In this sermon, Pastor Adam Mabry unpacks just how good that message of grace is.

There's a locust plague in Israel. But it's more than that. It's the Day of the Lord. In this first sermon in our series in Joel, Pastor Justin unpacks the intense first part of the book and explains why it's really, really good news.

In John 21, Jesus told his disciples to throw their nets on the right hand side of the boat, and all of a sudden their nets filled up with fish. In this final sermon in our Fishing series, Pastor Justin looks at the meaning of Jesus' final sign to his disciples in the Gospel of John, as well as what it means for disciples of Jesus today.

If Jesus told you that the road ahead was filled with betrayal and trouble, would you still go? That's exactly what his apostles did. In this sermon, Campus Ministry director Jonathan Cothron explores the surprising promise of goodness in the midst of persecution.

At a dinner party with tax collectors and sinners, Jesus described the mission of fishing as a doctor healing the sick. It can be uncomfortable to tell people that they're sick. In this sermon, Pastor Quentin unpacks how Jesus made that really good news for people. By following Jesus' example, we can help people understand the good news too.

When Jesus invited himself to Zacchaeus's house, it made the onlookers angry. Whatever was going on in their hearts threatens to undercut the mission of making disciples. In this sermon, Pastor Justin explains what that thing in their hearts was and how we must be wary of it in our own hearts.

Jesus had compassion for people because they were like sheep without a shepherd. In this sermon, Pastor Justin looks at Jesus' motivation for making disciples and how we can have that same motivation in our own lives.

Fishing. This is the metaphor Jesus used to describe the mission of making disciples to his first disciples. They understood fishing for fish, but fishing for people was totally unfamiliar to them. To become effective at fishing for people, they'd need to follow Jesus' lead into the unfamiliar.

Jesus illustrates abiding in him as a vine abides in the branch. In this sermon, Pastor Quentin explains what that means and what it's really really good news.

Jesus said there’s a difference between fickle faith and true discipleship—abiding in his word. In this sermon, Pastor Justin looks at how Jesus explains the difference.

This new series focuses on one question: What does it mean to abide in Christ? In John 6, Jesus calls himself the bread of life, and says that the only way to life is to feed on him. Pastor Justin unpacks this enigmatic saying and how we can do it in our day-to-day lives.

What advice would Jesus have for our new year goals and plans? In this sermon, Pastor Justin Chapman looks at Jesus' words to his disciples in Luke 17. Jesus warns them about something that can get them off track, and how they can stick to the path he's called them to.

As we reflect on the year behind us, how does Jesus want us to see it? In this sermon, Jonathan Cothron, Campus Ministry Director of our Providence location, looks at how Jesus wanted his disciples to see their immediate surroundings.

What does John mean by describing Jesus' arrival as the arrival of new creation? In this final part of our Christmas series, Pastor Justin Chapman walks us through John 1:1–18 to explore the good news of new creation arriving in Jesus.