Christ City Church Memphis

Matthew 5:3-16 Most of us would agree that without a sense of purpose life just isn’t fulfilling. So what happens when the purpose we are striving to fulfill seems elusive or cumbersome; at best filling us with anxiety and at worst causing us to despair? What if instead of fulfilling this purpose you need to reimagine it? Maybe the rest and recovery of life that Jesus offers in the Beattitudes is...

Luke 15:11-24 Few parables invoke as much longing as when we read the parable of the prodigal son. It captures something every human desires, but few attain: recovering the life you’re meant to have.  Listen in as well unpack this parable, and look at part of our mission, as a church, to help others recover their life. 

John 17:1-10, 20-26 At the core of the Bible is a promise that humans can know God. But if we're honest, few things feel as daunting or hopeless than this endeavor. We study our Bibles, pray, go to church, yet still feel so lonely and lost in knowing God. For many, it's enough to make them walk away. So, what does it mean to know God? Listen in as we ask this question and more, and attempt to unpa...

John 4:4-26 What does it mean to create a space where people can belong? What does it take to let your self be known and belong to something? These questions are just a couple of what we find in this story of Jesus and the woman at the well. Listen in as we begin our new vision and mission series, and discover what it means to be a place for others to belong.

Deuteronomy 6:4-9 If loving God with all of our heart is the most important commandment, then one of the most important things we can do is cultivate love for God. But what does that even mean? And how do we go about cultivating love for God? Maybe you've tried the whole "Quiet Time" thing and you've only experienced boredom and dullness. Listen in to discover rich ancient practices for our modern...

Genesis 2:15-17 We all have jobs to do. Some of us enjoy what we do, some of us are just “trying to pay the bills”, others just want work that is “decent” and still others are looking to “find themselves” through their occupation. How do we understand work as a gift, and divine responsibility from God when it doesn’t meet our expectations and when it does? Listen in as we wrestle with understandin...

Exodus 20:8-11 In our busy world it's essential that we discover a liturgy of rest. Our own life depends on it. Our love for neighbor depends on it. Our love of God depends on it. It might be one of the most important and most counter-cultural liturgies we can engage. Listen in as we talk about spiritual practices like sabbath, silence, solitude, and stillness: what prevents us from practicing the...

Deuteronomy 6:4-9 In a culture that elevates individualism the signs, symbols and actions of church liturgy can help us understand and cultivate a sense of community. If we allow the ancient liturgies to penetrate our modern lives we might see more of God than we had imagined possible.

Colossians 3:15-17 What is liturgy? And what is liturgical worship? Liturgy may mean more than you think, and liturgical worship may be more important than you know. Listen in to discover how you're a liturgical being, always being formed and shaped by practices of the heart and how regularly gathering for corporate worship shapes you in surprising ways.

Luke 12: 35-48 As we end our series on parables, we come to one that is frightening and challenging. The wait for our King's return is a serious matter, and something we cannot take lightly. Join us as we talk about what it means to wait and watch well until Jesus returns.

Luke 18:1-8 Prayer is hard. Many of us have prayer lives that are nonexistent. The rest of us have prayer lives that are inconsistent. In the parable of the persistent widow, Jesus offers deep comfort and teaches a necessary posture to cultivate in order to enjoy a rich, deep, robust, prayerful relationship with God.

Ephesians 2:19-21 No matter our distinctive or differing doctrines, all churches are called to unify in one particular mission woven throughout Scripture. Listen in as we take a journey through the Bible from Jacob, to Jesus and ending with Paul -- and find out what it means to be a dwelling place for God.

Luke 14:12-24 We all struggle with FOMO -- the fear of missing out on something special and significant. That's not just a 21st century thing, but an ancient fear, too. Listen in as we talk about FOMOG -- the fear of missing out on God, and how we can learn to jump into God moments when we come across them and not miss out.

Matthew 13:44-46 When we read about Jesus and what he had to say something awakens in us, stirs us, moves us. That thing is desire. Desire is a dangerous thing because it compels us to "go for it" even if it costs us more than we were willing to give up. Listen in as we continue our series on parables and look at two that show us what it means to step into desire.

Luke 5:36-38 If you think of your spiritual life as a container to hold your beliefs, practices, feelings and doubts what would it look like? Listen in as we explore the shape and form of that container for a follower of Jesus.

Mark 4:30-32 This week we look at a kingdom parable, a metaphor Jesus uses to fill our imagination with truth about the kingdom of God so that we can live as kingdom-shaped people in the world. We see that the kingdom of God is like a mustard seed, which sounds like a strange thing to say, and it is! As we'll see, it was surprising to Jesus's original listeners, and it's just as surprising (and ch...

Matthew 20:1-16 Many times we want fairness when it benefits us and aren't that concerned if it doesn't. How does Jesus describe what fairness looks like in the Kingdom of Heaven? Who goes first? Who gets more? Who misses out? Jesus' answer might surprise us and give us hope.

Luke 24:50-53 Jesus has ascended to heaven and the disciples return to the temple in Jerusalem. In these few verses, we see God's ultimate hope for his people. We see a group of people desperate to be with their God and a God eager to welcome them home. Listen in as we explore the conclusion to Luke's gospel account.

Luke 24:36-49 What do you do when a man who was dead three days ago is standing in front of you, fully alive, and pointing you to a new reality in how see and interact with the world? That is what the disciples are faced with in this passage...and so are we. Listen in as we attempt to unpack the bigness and meaning of this passage and see what it means for us.

Luke 24:13-35 Death is scary and talk of resurrection brings questions and uncertainty. Imagine the confusion of Jesus' followers after his death hearing reports that Jesus' tomb was found empty and some had seen angels proclaiming He had risen. "Could it be that something we thought impossible might have occurred?" A challenge to our perception of reality accompanied the resurrection of Jesus and...

Luke 24:9-12 Jesus's resurrection means new creation is bursting forth into the world. And the first implication of the resurrection that we see in Luke's telling of the story is a radical reversal of the values of the first-century world. Suddenly, those who were viewed as voiceless are given a strong voice. Those who were viewed as powerless are given important power. Listen in as we unpack the...

Luke 24:1-8 He is risen! And that means there's life for anyone in need when they come to Jesus. So why do we instead keep looking for life in dead places? Listen in as we celebrate Easter and ponder the angel's question: why are you looking for the living among the dead?

Matthew 27:24-50 We all know what it’s like to feel lonely. We know that it can sometimes feel akin to doubt. Doubt in ourselves, in others and in God. Jesus in his full humanity has felt that too. As he hung on the cross and cried out to his Father asking why he had "been forsaken" he understood both loneliness and doubt. Join us as we ponder the power of this moment on Good Friday.

Matthew 26:47-56 One of the most infamous stories in the Bible is Judas betraying Jesus with a kiss. Deceit and betrayal from those we love and trust are themes throughout literature, because it's one of the most basic human experiences. Join us as we look at how Jesus responds to this, and the hope he can give us. 

Luke 19:28-44 In this passage we encounter a publicly lamenting Jesus. When we really consider the scene, it makes us uncomfortable. Isn't an important public (even royal!) figure supposed to "maintain his composure"? To "keep it together"? But what if Jesus and other ancient Hebrew people have some important to teach us about what it means to be human? Something that we as modern people might be...