Christ City Church Memphis

Acts 21:26-36 As we continue our series called “Facing Life,” we follow Paul back to Jerusalem where he’s faced with the religiosity he once championed: a harsh system that decided who was in and who was out. For anyone who grew up in church, the chances of us relating to that kind of religious system is more common than we may realize.  Listen in as we unpack the difference between having re...

Acts 21:1-14 We live in a culture that tells us we can do anything and have anything. This message, and its effects, are counter to the Kingdom of God and practical reality. All of our decisions have consequences and we are, in truth, a small part of a greater whole. When we cultivate a sober understanding of our limitations we have a shot of achieving the potential God has for us. Listen in as we...

John 15:1-9 Jesus’ invitation to us is to learn from him how to live life. Listen in as we discuss what is meant by rest and responsibility. We’ll see how these two work together to make us fruitful, which Jesus says is how we know that we’re his disciples.

Acts 20:7-12 This week we encounter a bizarre story! In the midst of Paul preaching a long sermon (very long!), a young man named Eutychus (which means "lucky," by the way) dozes off and falls from a third-story window to his death only to be restored to life by Paul a few moments later. It's a fascinating (and mildly comical!) story, but is there anything that it has to say to us today? You'd be...

Acts 19:20-41 Things are heating up for Paul and the other early followers of Jesus as the story of Acts progresses. This week we encounter a dangerous riot opposing the message and activity of Paul and his friends. We learn an important reality: the kingdom of God necessarily confronts and challenges kingdoms of this world. But the way that confrontation and challenge happens with Paul and other...

Acts 19:1-20 Many people claim Jesus is the source of their actions, successes and even failures. How can we know if it’s true? Can we? Listen in as we discuss the workings of the Divine in our lives.

Acts 20:17-38 (MSG) As we recognize and install new elders this Sunday at Christ City Church, we look to the pattern that Paul had set for the Elders of Ephesus. The life Paul lived and calls these elders into is a life of vulnerability, a life of heartache and hardship, and a life of care for self and others. Listen in as we look at this and more, and continue in our series on GodSpeak pt2.

Acts 18:18-28 Sometimes it can be hard to know when to give and when to receive. In fact many of us have been taught that it is a virtue to give all of ourselves away and then end up burnt out and resentful. Others of us expect (often unconsciously) to constantly receive- judging everything by how much it entertains us or reaffirms what we already think. What if neither position is a mature respon...

Acts 18:1-17 Have you ever felt done ? Like, you try and keep trying, but feel life is against you and NOTHING works out?  Probably so.  In this passage, we find Paul in a similar spot. He has stepped out on faith to follow God and preach the good news of the Christ, but everywhere he turns he encounters backlash, hardships, and simply "life not working." But there's a deeper truth God h...

Acts 17:16-34 Have you ever experienced something that so dramatically shifted your perspective about life that it made it difficult to relate to the people around you? The apostle Paul did. As we continue to explore Paul's encounter with Athenian thinkers we find the meeting of two different world views- Is the divine a separate and abstract idea or has it walked among us, spoken and acted? In es...

Acts 17:16-34 This week we encounter Paul as a tourist in Athens right before his famous Mars Hill sermon. But Paul isn't on vacation, checked out and taking it easy. Instead, he's dialed in, choosing presence and engaging culture. Listen in as we seek  to learn from the Apostle Paul about how we as modern people can live as followers of Jesus in our complex cultural landscape.

Acts 17:10-15 You ever hear something that sounds so good you just can't help but believe it without checking up on the sources? Of course! Haven't we all? But when Paul and his crew encounter a group of Jews called the Bereans he finds they have a more thoughtful approach to his good sounding news. They receive Paul's messages about Jesus the Christ with eagerness but they also look to the script...

Acts 17:1-9 Paul's opponents accuse him in Acts 17 of "turning the world upside down." Their statement is loaded with irony, and Paul would likely agree with them! Paul might suggest that the world is being turned "right side up" through King Jesus. But would people say the same thing about Christians today? Are we turning the world "right side up"? If not, why? What if it's because the message we...

I Corinthians 15:1-11 He is risen! He is risen, indeed! Resurrection tells us the world has changed and we are invited to be a part of it all and help usher in all that is true about God to a world hurting. Something was opened up and unleashed on Easter...something big and life-changing...something true and of first importance.  Listen in as we unpack the “of first importance” of the resurre...

Luke 23:32-43 During his last hours Jesus was not consumed with rage and resentment but was instead found so full of mercy and compassion he could listen to and see the two men next to him who shared his fate-a criminal's death on a cross. One hurled insults, the other asked for mercy. Jesus gave immediately to the one who asked. What kind of man (God) is this who bestows mercy so freely in the mi...

Genesis 1:26-31 In a world looking for beauty to behold, Scripture tells us humans are the best chance at meeting those needs. And though we've seen much beauty come from humanity, we can point to countless ruins where we've not sought to create true and lasting beauty, but something to simply suffice our momentary impulses and lusts.  At Christ City Church, we believe there's a mandate and t...

Esther 3:1-4:17 The story of Esther is timeless and inspiring: an orphan, minority woman who rises to a seat of power only to be faced with the dilemma of risking her meteoric rise and privilege, as she attempts to save her people. We know Ester finds the courage to confront the king and thus the cultural norms, and God uses her to bring change to her world...simply because she was willing to enga...

Galatians 2:11-14 Like the early church, Christ City desires to practice ‘embracing diversity.’ But this practice is never easy. This story in Galatians 2 exposes how hard this practice was for the early Church, and it won’t be easy for us either. In fact, if our embracing diversity is easy, are we really embracing the sort of diversity that honors God and honors others? Listen in as we wrestle wi...

 2 Peter 1:3-9 In most expressions of Christianity belief and faith are highly valued. This is good since both are essential to following Jesus and living in Christian community.  Yet a breakdown can occur when we fail to realize that living this life of faith is not merely an act of will power or change in attitude but requires careful and ongoing cultivation of our spirituality. Listen...

Mark 12:28-34 There’s a stigma in the church that any kind of self-love is wrong. Even if it’s not explicitly said, it’s seemingly inferred when we think of Jesus telling his followers to “denying yourself.”  But a closer look at Jesus’ teachings tells us something different.  Listen in as we explore what it means to love yourself well and seek health, and how that’s the only true path t...

Matthew 9:18-38 When we read and talk about how interactive and insightful Jesus was with people wherever he went, we tend to attribute it to his divinity. But what if it was his humanity that allowed him to see and have compassion for so many people?  What if Jesus was the most present human who ever lived? And if we want to follow after him, what does it mean to seek that kind of awareness...

Matthew 6:1-6, 16-21 Jesus invites us to participate... to engage life with practices that aim our heart at that which will ultimately bring life and flourishing. Jesus doesn't invite us to merely believe in the Living Water, he invites us to drink deeply and quench our thirst. Listen in to this special Ash Wednesday sermon as we reflect on the invitation of Jesus and also look forward to our new...

Acts 16: 16-40 Have you ever been so annoyed with something you decided to do something about it? You see something in your life or the world around you and you decide to act because you just can’t live with how it is any longer. Even if it won’t accomplish much, you simply have to do something or you can’t go on. And yet, those small moments of annoyances have the potential to bring change. The p...

Acts 16:6-15  We're all familiar with dramatic stories of God intervening in people's lives and calling them on a great adventure with him. But for many (or most!) of us, those dramatic stories are unrelatable. We want to live in what God is calling us to, but how do we discern God's call? Listen in as we unpack important lessons from this story of Paul's radical call to change his plans and...

Acts 15:36-16:5 Few of us enjoy conflict but all of us have to deal with it. Whether its called a disagreement, argument or debate all relationships must either engage it or end. What we sometimes forget is that these differences and disputes give us opportunities to either grow in wisdom or flounder in immaturity depending on how we respond. Listen in as we explore one such situation in the book...