AVL City Church Podcast

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...

We are living in one of the loudest Christian moments in history—yet somehow, one of the lightest. Podcasts. Platforms. Clips. Conferences. Endless commentary. And still, proclamation—the kind that cuts hearts, awakens consciences, and confronts darkness—feels rare. Why? Because real proclamation doesn’t begin with confidence, courage, or a platform. It begins with presence. When presence is lost,...

Values don’t just shape behavior, they shape desire. And desire always determines direction. Before Presence is a feeling, it’s a way of living before God’s face. Not hype. Not performance. Not religion on autopilot. Presence is relational before it’s experiential. It’s God being known, not just near. When Presence leads: • Prayer becomes dependence • Proclamation carries weight • People become sa...

2026 has a word. Not a slogan. Not a vibe. A weight. We sing it. We shout it. But this word won’t let you stay casual. When it shows up in Scripture: • People fall • Systems shake • Sin is exposed • History bends The word is GLORY. Glory isn’t hype. It’s the manifested weight of who God is, His holiness, goodness, authority, and truth made visible. And here’s the mystery: Christ in you, the hope o...

We all come to Christmas for different reasons. Some come for theology—God with us, light entering darkness, hope stepping into history. Some come longing for meaning, peace, or a sense that the world might still be redeemable. Some come for family, tradition, nostalgia, generosity, or simply to survive the winter. And some come carrying grief, loneliness, and quiet exhaustion. The Christian claim...

For many of us, the word peace no longer carries wonder. We’ve heard it promised cheaply, preached softly, and reduced to emotional relief. But Scripture never treats peace as fragile or shallow. Biblical peace is formed in the middle of shaking, not in the absence of it. In this teaching, we trace one of the most overlooked promises in Scripture: God does not promise stability, He promises presen...

UNBREAKABLE JOY || Luke 2:8–14 || Sergio Fesiuk In this episode we confront a Christmas passage we think we know, but rarely truly see. Luke 2 is not a cozy holiday scene; it is a cosmic invasion. Heaven tears open the night sky, the glory of God returns to earth, and the announcement of a Savior—Christ the Lord—shakes the darkness of the human condition. We explore why God chose shepherds, why Hi...

In this episode, we explore one of the most defining moments in the Gospels—when Jesus interrupted the ordinary workday of four fishermen and issued a call that demanded repentance, surrender, and a completely new direction. Matthew, Mark, and Luke all tell the story, but each reveals a different layer of Jesus’ call: the command, the promise, the miracle, and the heart-level response. Matthew and...

All it takes is one spark in the right house. When Jesus walked into His hometown synagogue in Nazareth, no one expected revival to break out. They thought they already knew Him, the carpenter’s son, the local boy. But that day, He opened the scroll of Isaiah 61, read the words of promise, and declared, “Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.” That “today” set the house on fire. This t...

What do you do when you’ve prayed… and nothing’s changed? When heaven feels silent, the pain is real, and all you have left is a word from Jesus? In John 4, a royal official with power, money, and influence faces the one thing he can’t control, his dying child. Desperation drives him 20 miles uphill to find Jesus. And in one sentence, “Go; your son lives,” Jesus teaches him, and us, what faith rea...