Austin Life Church

Amos confronts us with an uncomfortable truth: religious activity without genuine heart transformation is detestable to God. Through the prophet Amos, we witness God's judgment falling heaviest not on the pagan nations, but on His own covenant people Israel. Why? Because they honored God with their lips while their hearts remained far from Him.

In the marriage of Hosea with Gomer, we see a picture of God’s relentless and forgiving love. Hosea is called to marry Gomer, a woman of promiscuity, who will not keep her covenant with Hosea. Yet, Hosea will still pursue her in relentless and forgiving love, just as God has done for Israel, and us. 

From the Trinity's eternal community of love to the creation of Adam and Eve as two halves of a whole humanity, we discover that isolation contradicts our very design. Yet sin fractured these relationships, leaving us in a world marked by loneliness, polarization, and selfishness. The good news? Through Christ's blood, God is creating one new humanity, tearing down the dividing walls and a...

Christians ought to excel in the grace of cheerful generosity. Why? Because God says so? How? Only when we have enough extra? Cheerful generosity is a grace given from a grace received, the grace of Jesus Christ.

If you are saved, you are sent. For all who have trusted in Christ and surrendered their lives to following Him, then we are called to follow Him in bold proclamation as well, showing with our lives and telling with our words how the One More around us can have eternal and abundant life in Jesus. 

As a follower of Jesus, as one who aims to know, love, and become like Jesus, we must take on the position of Jesus, servant to all. And this position, of servant to His Father and to all was not a position of begrudging duty, but of joyful delight!

Formation is always happening. You are either being conformed to this world, or you're being transformed to know and discern what is the will of God, basically being transformed into Jesus. At ALC, we believe mutual formation, the intentional practice of giving of yourself to help someone else become more like Jesus, is a critical part of the process of being formed into the image of Christ!

We exist to help every person know, love, and become like Jesus. That means being and helping one another to be, a people of gathered worship.

We know it; we need others in our lives to be all that God created us to be. The Bible tells us that the best context for this community is within a local church, as a committed member to one another and God.

“Where there is no vision, the people are unrestrained. But happy is one who keeps the Law”. It’s not just that we need vision in our lives. We need the right vision. What is the vision that God has for us, and how are we going to pursue that vision?

We all want hope in our lives. We need hope! The belief, the conviction that the best is yet to come. If we think that it is all downhill, we will despair and spiral into destruction. Where else can we go? But, praise God, that in the resurrection of Jesus, we are born again to a living and eternal hope. The best is yet to come with Jesus!

There is only one who can strengthen us to remain faithfully obedient to the end. And through the gospel of Jesus Christ, the only wise God has made this possible. Praise be to Him.

The reality is, there is an enemy who is actively seeking to steal, kill, and destroy. We need not fear, for victory is secure in Jesus. But we do need to watch out for those who would divide and obstruct our pursuit of Jesus.

In concluding his letter to the Romans, Paul gives a series of greetings to those in the churches in Rome. This letter is more than just information. But it is sharing the way of Jesus WITH one another.

The great commission of God - to make disciples of all people - calls for active participation among all who follow Jesus. We are either Going, Supporting & Sending, or Praying, and most likely all 3 at some point in our lives.

What compelled Paul to write his letter to the Romans? 1) Because God had graciously called him to, he had to obey God 2) because God empowered Him to through Jesus. 

To welcome one another, as Christ has welcomed us, is to extend a seat at the table of our lives; to invite someone into genuine belonging with us. And this welcoming is to extend even to the one we would have never beforehand.

We are instructed to be a people who welcome one another as Christ has welcomed us. A way in which we do this is by bearing the weaknesses of others, in order to please and build them up in Christ.

As a follower of Jesus, it is my obligation to never put anything in the way of another growing to know, love, and become like Jesus. Rather, I am to always do what promotes peace and builds up.

The life of a Christian is a life of before & after. Before Christ, our life looked one way. After Christ, our life ought to look another way. But so often, even after Christ, we look the same. Therefore, Paul tells us, get up, get moving, and walk in the light as He is in the light. 

Paul shows how belonging to Christ changes everything—how we see people, what we're called to do, and what we're called to say. At the heart of the gospel is reconciliation: God reconciling the world to himself through Christ, and calling us to be his ambassadors.

The kingdom of God is a reality of existence that has always been present. At first, the kingdom of God existed in perfection. But it didn’t take long for the kingdom to be fractured. Today, we have experienced a partial return of the kingdom of God, but we still wait and look for the complete return of God’s kingdom on earth as it is in Heaven. 

We continue exploring the theme of the Kingdom of God as it develops in the story of the Bible. In 1 Samuel 17, we get a glimpse of the type of king that God's people need to defend them and lead them in God's way. 

The kingdom of God is a reality of existence that has always been present. At first, the kingdom of God existed in perfection. But it didn’t take long for the kingdom to be fractured. Today, we have experienced a partial return of the kingdom of God, but still wait and look for the complete return of God’s kingdom on earth as it is in heaven.

As Paul addressed the church in Rome concerning their relation to the governing authorities, we dive through the text to see how this applies in our context.