City Alive Church

Moses commands Israel to teach their kids and grandkids who God is and what he has done. The Faith has survived from Moses' day to ours because each generation of parents has owned the responsibility of discipling their children.

The book of Deuteronomy records Moses' final words to the Israelites at the border of the Promised Land. There is one God: Yahweh. All his commands are really one command: Love.

God is looking for a generation who will seek his face with clean hands and pure hearts. If we will open up to him, he will come in power and glory.

At the edge of the of the Promised Land, Israel is enticed into idol worship and sexual sin. When an Israelite man brings a Midianite woman into the camp, Phinehas kills them both and is approved by God. Stories like this teach us about our own battle with the enemy. Sin has to be put to death. Check out our Story of God podcast feed to find all the messages in one place. Spotify: https://open.spo...

Across the Jordan River from Jericho, Israel is camped in the Plains of Moab. The King of Moab hires a prophet to curse them, but instead he blesses them four times. This story teaches us that nothing can curse what God has blessed. Check out our Story of God podcast feed to find all the messages in one place. Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4v630V6S72VzXRgGk5YsWt Apple Podcasts: https://po...

Israel becomes impatient in the wilderness. They rebel. God's judgment comes. They ask for mercy. God forgives. This pattern repeats again and again throughout Israel's wilderness journey. And it reveals to us one of the core ideas of the Bible: God has provided a priest for sinners. Check out our Story of God podcast feed to find all the messages in one place. Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/sh...

Moses sends spies into the land, who find that it's just as good as God said it was. But they also find giants. Ten of the spies want to turn back to Egypt, but two believe they should move ahead and conquer the land. Their choice is the same as ours: will we turn back in unbelief or will we boldly step into the promise of God? Check out our Story of God podcast feed to find all the messages i...

After spending a year at Mount Sinai, Israel sets out for the Promised Land. They have a salvation in their past and a promise in their future, but in between they have a desert. The wilderness is the "in-between" place, full of trials and tests. How we handle the wilderness determines whether or not we make it into the Promised Land. Check out our Story of God podcast feed to find all the message...

God's design for sex, gender, and marriage is radically countercultural today. But God's way leads to life.

Paul tells the church in Ephesus to talk walk worthy of the calling they have received from the Lord. Paul's message in Ephesians 4:1-16 centers on two things: the ascended Christ and the thriving church.

An encounter with Christ is a movement from death to life. We exist for union with the risen Jesus. We become united to him in baptism.

The gospel is the news of what God has done for us in Jesus Christ. Because of his great love he has rescued us out of our sin and given us a brand new life.

The final night before the cross, Jesus offers his followers a meal. It's a meal of his own body and blood. And Jesus tells them to do it often in remembrance of him.

The most important thing in our lives is that we love the Lord with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength, and that we love our neighbors as ourselves.

At the end of the Sermon, Jesus offers two striking analogies for how to find life. His way is like a narrow road, but it's real freedom. And obedience to him is like building your life on an unshakeable rock.

Continuing with his radically counterintuitive teaching, Jesus tells us not to worry about money and to seek heavenly treasure. Better than all the stuff the world offers to us is the Father's kingdom. If we seek the kingdom first, he will provide for everything we need.

At the center of the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus teaches us to pray like he did. It's a prayer that is rooted in fellowship with God as Father. It's a prayer that co-labors with God to see his kingdom come into this world. And it's a prayer for the many needs we face each day.

Jesus offers some of his most counterintuitive teaching at the end of Matthew 5. He teaches us that his kingdom comes through humble, sacrificial love. Instead of resisting our enemies, we are to love them, because that's what the Father does.

In 3 John 2, John writes his desire for his audience to prosper. God desires that we flourish in every area of life: financially, physically, mentally/emotionally, and spiritually.

Jesus does not lower the bar from the Old Testament law, he actually elevates it to the level of the heart. The righteousness God wants is not an external performance, but an interior reality. The New Covenant offers us a new heart.

Jesus is the New Moses, teaching on the mountain. He is the New David, ushering in God's kingdom. And he opens the famous Sermon on the Mount by describing those who are truly blessed: the poor in spirit. This is the great key to the spiritual life and the gateway to God's kingdom breaking into a broken world.

Peter denies Jesus, and decides to go back fishing. But it turns out Jesus was fishing for him. Peter's restoration is a reminder that our failures are not the end of our story. And the best days of our walk with Jesus are still to come.

Faced with the death of a beloved friend, Jesus announces that he is the Resurrection and the Life. What Jesus does for a Lazarus is a picture of what he wants to do for every person in the world. We can believe with hope for our lives, our church, and our world because Jesus specializes in bringing dead things to life again.

Bartimaeus' name means "son of honor". But when Jesus found him he was a blind beggar outside of Jericho. The promise of this story is that when we cry out to Jesus he hears us and makes us new.

This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the sacrifice for our sins. This is the message of the gospel. Love is not only the beginning of our walk with Jesus. It's also the pinnacle. Spiritual gifts come and go, but our love for him will last forever.