Cities Church Exhortations

In this exhortation, Will Stueve (Church Planter) looks at Psalm 119:37 and asks: What are you looking at that is keeping you from seeing and savoring the glory of Christ?

In this exhortation, Pastor Mike Polley shares his prayer for our church in this new year. May God have us become more thankful as a result of becoming more prayerful.

In this exhortation, Pastor David Mathis speaks of new year’s resolutions pointing us to 2 Thessalonians 1:11-12. How can we make resolutions with resolve?

In this exhortation, Church Planter Will Stueve exhorts us – as we exit a time of waiting and enter a time of celebrating – to actually celebrate the wondrous truth of Christmas.

In this exhortation, Pastor Jonathan Parnell quotes C.S. Lewis on how each of our choices are changing us more into a heavenly creature or a hellish creature. We need to choose what we want most over what we want in the immediate in order to move closer to God.

In this exhortation, Pastor Mike Schumann references the conclusion of The Lord’s Prayer and highlights the wondrous invitation from the Son of God for us to ask our Father for help in fighting against sin and temptation.

In this exhortation, Pastor Marshall Segal introduces this Advent season with a call to wait well like the watchman in Psalm 130.

In this exhortation, Pastor Mike Polley exhorts us from the apostle Paul’s words to Timothy in 2 Timothy 2:19. Is there a sin in your life that you need to depart from? Is there a thought, attitude, or action that you have grown comfortable with despite knowing it is wrong?

In this exhortation, Jon Hoglund highlights how we can be tempted to hold off on trusting God’s goodness until all of our questions have been answered. We’ve got the order reversed. So, how can we embrace the real glory of faith?

In this exhortation, Will Stueve (Church Planting Resident) focuses in on the good challenge for us found particularly at the end of Psalm 105:4. It’s an invitation into the great joy of constant, conscious, communion with our Creator.

In this exhortation, Pastor Mike Polley reflects on the Helper that Jesus mentions in John 16:7 and how this is a greater gift even than the gift of Christian community.

In this exhortation, Ryan Griffith exhorts us to search ourselves for where worldliness has crept in. Where have we traded sola scriptura for sola cultura? What’s really shaping what we desire or approve?

In this exhortation, Pastor Jonathan Parnell asks a series of questions that highlight the many reasons we have to hope in God.

In this exhortation, Pastor Mike Schumann references a popular story’s battle scene in which the two sides should have been at peace, but rather they were distracted from their true enemy by fighting one another. As Christians, let’s follow Ephesians 6:12, and seek unity.

In this exhortation, Kevin Kleiman gives us the invitation of Psalm 46: to let go and be still. The gospel invites us to lay down our burdens, not be crushed by them; to let God be God.

In this exhortation, Pastor Mike Polley reminds us that we all have gone astray and Jesus came to bring us back to God. So, let Jesus lead you back.

In this exhortation, Will Stueve (Church Planting Resident) exhorts us from 1 John 3:8. How often do we ignore the demonic nature of practicing sin? Do we think of sin as we ought to?

In this exhortation, Pastor Mike Schumann looks at Mark 7 where Jesus provides “evil thoughts” as an example of a common sin for us. What is your thought life like? How would Jesus describe your common imaginations?

In this exhortation, Pastor Daniel Helstrom focuses in on the latter part of the Great Commission that tells us to do all that Jesus has commanded of us. How exactly are we supposed to do all that? Is it even realistic?

In this exhortation, Ryan Griffith recalls Jonathan Edwards’ remark on the prevailing presence of a censorious spirit in places such as our polarized world today, including our churches and our own hearts. This is the opposite of a Christian spirit, so let’s examine ourselves.

In this exhortation, Pastor David Mathis reflects on the blessing of meeting and ministering to other Christians in faraway places. Don’t let our many modern day comforts keep you from meeting needs here at home and maybe in faraway places as well.

In this exhortation, Pastor Jonathan Parnell shares about the ancient practice of water baptism and why it is so important for believers to be baptized today. If you are a Christian and not yet baptized, you need to get baptized.

In this exhortation, Pastor Marshall Segal encourages us to sing! As Psalm 149:1 says, “Sing to the Lord a new song.”

In this exhortation, Pastor Jonathan Parnell reflects on his grandfather’s stories of biblical faith seen through the many years at his local church. In a world where we often settle for a brand of Christianity requiring a minimum amount of faith, let’s confess how we’ve surrendered our hearts to comfort, people-pleasing, or anything other than knowing God.

In this exhortation, Pastor Mike Schumann reflects on the reality that we do not own our bodies for we were bought with a price – our bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit. Therefore, let’s confess the ways we have used our bodies in ways that are not pleasing to God.