Citizens Weekly

Speaker: Ben Rush From the Series, “Acts.” In an individualistic culture captivated by relativism and addicted to busyness, how do we live and share the Way of Jesus? Where do we even begin? As apprentices of Jesus, is it possible to define, determine, and distill the point in which our highest contribution lies? Paul knew what was essential, Jesus knew what was essential, and the church must redi...

From the Series, “Acts”. In the story of Paul encountering the seven brothers of Sceva (Acts 19:11-20), interesting questions arise through the voice of an evil spirit. In the heavenlies, we want to be known both by God the Father and by God’s adversary, called Satan. But why? And why should we fear not the enemy of God? What does the Bible say about God’s enemy, and what does the Bible say about...

Just as Jesus depended on the Holy Spirit to empower Him, we too are invited to receive power from the Holy Spirit to be His witnesses. In Acts 18:24-19:12 both Apollos and this small band of believers hear an incomplete gospel without fully understanding who the Holy Spirit is and the power that he continually offers. We, as believers today, are invited to know the person and work of the Holy Spi...

In Acts 18 introduces us to characters in the biblical narrative who show us what it means to persevere in difficult, unsure, and uncomfortable circumstances to spread the gospel of Jesus Christ. Look more closely with us as we study the lives of Priscilla, Aquila and Apollos in their roles of reconciling people to God through his God’s plan and because of his love for humanity. Ask yourself: When...

In Acts 17, the early followers of Jesus are described as "...defying Caesar’s decrees, saying that there is another king, one called Jesus." Amid so many competitors for our attention and affections, how do we live into the legacy of a Church whose loyalty and worship are clearly and wholly offered to God as he is revealed in Jesus?

Worship is a way that God has provided for humanity to come into agreement with Him. Acts 16 is a window into Paul and Silas continually being led by the Spirit and using praise as strength and warfare. We all need encouragement to continue to allow our lives to be yielded to the Spirit. 

Immediately after helping resolve one of the Church's first dramatic theological disputes, Paul and Barnabas disagree over something seemingly far smaller and decide to part ways. We've all lived this reality - ruptured relationships in the church or other contexts we can't seem to fix. What if this story of disunity and disappointment in the early Church can actually point us to ho...

Acts 15 offers good news and a way forward for a Church that faces uncertainties, controversies, disagreements, and disunity — for a Church that knows it doesn’t have everything figured out.

From the Series, “Acts”. While we often respond to God and one another through earnest and vulnerable expectations, we may not always know how to name such expectations or pinpoint where they originated. Acts 14 showcases two different people-groups responding to Barnabas and Paul through the filter of deeply entrenched cultural expectations. Because our expectations may supercede our logic, we ne...

From the Series, “Acts”. Luke, author of Acts, offers an interesting story in Acts 13 of Paul addressing a “false prophet”. Paul is harsh, to say the least, both to this character and to false prophets he warns against in his Epistles. But why is Paul so harsh? And what do Luke’s story and Paul’s responses tell us, in the modern church, about identifying and addressing false prophets and teachings...

From the Series, "Acts”. In Acts 13:1-3, we see how the ethnic and cultural diversity of the first century church should be reflected in our church today. But instead of a “fellowship of differents”, we often have a “fellowship of sames”, and the only way to address this is to recognize the effectiveness of Christ’s sacrifice on the cross.

From the Series, “Acts”. In Acts 12, those who belonged to the church prayed earnestly for Peter's release, with intense passion, moments after the death of James. In the garden, hours before his execution, Jesus prayed in the same way. After the resurrection, Jesus welcomed Thomas patiently and lovingly, even though he had uncertainty that Jesus was alive. We live in a world of pain, sicknes...

From the Series, “Acts”. In the West, we openly talk about sex but avoid talking about money. The church in Acts is a family that loves generously by sharing time, energy, and money with anyone in need. How do we live in the Way of Jesus in a culture addicted to affluence, accumulation, and abundance? And how do we change our scarcity mindset to a sharing mindset, where everything we have is just...

From the series, "Acts". In Chapter 11, we see Barnabas, who is called the "son of encouragement". Walking in the Way of Jesus is seeing your entire existence as an encourager. Encouragers see people and situations through the eyes of Jesus.  They are joyful people, full of goodness, faith, and the Holy Spirit. Encouragers form partnerships, emulating God the Father, who forms...

While a Partial Gospel views sin in the Garden and redemption on the Cross as the totality of our Christian experience, a Fuller Gospel reaches back to our Image-bearing purposes with God in Creation and our redeemed partnership with Him in restoring His Kingdom to this earth. Speaking forgiveness and blessings well, offers concrete opportunities to partner with God in His Fuller Gospel story.

From the series, "Acts". As Peter and the early Church continue to discover in Acts 10, the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus open the doorway to God's Kingdom for anyone and everyone in need of forgiveness and new life. Then and now, that reality redefines who God's people are, who our people are, and what that means for the life of the Church.

From the series, "Acts". Why is it that when some people face opposition, they’re resilient, while others completely fall apart? Roadblocks, detours, and closed doors are expected parts of life in The Way of Jesus. Opposition, conflict, and tension may feel like defeat, but instead, it is an opportunity and an invitation for new life and a new beginning. 

Resurrection is God’s rescue mission, and it all begins with Jesus conquering death with a tomb that’s empty. Resurrection announces that there is a new creation bursting forth, right here and right now. Resurrection is the promise of something better and a hope that the end is not really the end. Resurrection is God’s invitation to join him in redeeming, restoring, and renewing all things. 

The Bible is meant to be read in three dimensions: understanding the text, knowing its historical significance, and seeing it all through the cultural lens of ancient Israel.  Palm Sunday challenges the beliefs we hold at our core, who and what we serve, and how far we’re willing to go. Listen and see how the text lives and breathes and reveals the mystery of a savior who holds something so dear H...

From the series, "Acts". Encounters with Jesus change us as individuals and together as the family of God. The power of the Holy Spirit enables us to do more through our lives than humanly possible and the effects will far outlast our own lives.

Most of our misconceptions regarding the "Family of God" are steeped in the modern American ethos of do more and more things for more and more people, which is not the Father's heart for His children. The "Family of God" instead looks more like a collective faith in Christ infused by the Holy Spirit's authority to "rejoice and mourn" together freely and well...

From the Series, “Acts”. God is deeply and fundamentally relational, and because of this, he will use any means possible to be in a relationship with humankind, and that includes you. In Acts 8, we see five ways God reconciles us to himself: through disruption, generosity, inclusion, obedience, and suffering. 

From the series, “Acts”. The faith that has been handed down to us is not the result of a Church that won cultural and political battles over the centuries. It's an inheritance from men and women like Stephen, who demonstrate the power, cost, and hope of cross-shaped living rooted in the Church. Stephen's story is not meant to make him an uncommon hero but to invite us into the kind of l...

From the Series, “The Way of Jesus”. Our lives are no more than the combination of a million tiny decisions. How do we live with discernment and wisdom that reflects the way of Jesus in areas that aren’t specifically spelled out in scripture? True wisdom is humble action that recognizes the value of others above ourselves.