Citizens Weekly

From the series “Acts”. Disciples of Jesus are devoted to knowing, loving, and living the scriptures. Acts 1:15-26 shows us how to submit to God’s will and make decisions that please God in the context of community and through the direction of God’s word.

From the series, “Acts”. Disciples of Jesus live in community and are devoted to prayer. The early church in Acts 1:12-14 provides a model for praying during times of fear and uncertainty. 

When Jesus died and then again after his ascension, his earliest followers faced the confusion and doubts that naturally follow the loss of "normal" and the death of expectations, yet those difficulties gave way to joy and the birth of the Church. How? And what do we need to move through our current disorientation and disappointment and into the active hope that God's purposes for o...

Presenting the Church to ourselves as Christ presents it to Himself is an act of Spiritual Warfare. We must see, behold, and love the Church as Christ loves her. 

God’s desire for his sons and daughters is to live fully awake, seeing clearly, and fully alive in relationship with him, even in the fog and confusion of our world today. 

In Luke 10:25-37, an expert in the Torah asks Jesus for his definition of a neighbor. Jesus responds in a parable, describing a neighbor as someone we become. 

With his unique sense of humor, Jesus teaches us that our vision is impaired and that we are misguided when we judge others before honest self reflection and confession. Luke 6:37-42

Waiting is active, not passive. John Ortberg said that “Waiting is not just something we do until we get what we want. Waiting is a part of the process of becoming who God wants us to be.” Luke 1:5-25

The Gospel is more than just a way to get to heaven. It’s about heaven invading every space on earth. It starts before the fall, at creation itself, and encompasses the restoration of all created things. 

Lament is an important part of worship that is largely neglected today. We can feel both deep sadness, anger, and grief; and a hope that God will bring justice and healing. As the Apostle Paul said, we grieve, but not as those who have no hope. Psalm 13

In response to the murder of George Floyd, Ben confronts the church’s complicity with the sin of systemic racism, and describes what our response should and will be as citizens of heaven. 

Jesus pursued us even when we were broken and lost. In the same way, we are called to look for and love the broken world around us. James 1:27

We are both hurt in relationship and healed in relationship. Jesus lived in community and his call to follow him is synonymously a call to live in community with other students of Jesus. John 15:1-17

Jesus offers to be our good shepherd who calls us by name, leads us out, and goes ahead of us. As students of Jesus, we are learning to recognize His voice. John 10:1-11