City Alive Church

We live in an age of despair, where cynicism and criticism are easy. Hope is hard. But real hope is possible because of the arrival of God's Son. Isaiah prophesied a sunrise for those living in the land of darkness, because a Child is born and a Son is given.

This time of year we like to talk and sing about joy. But is lasting joy even possible in real life? In Christ, we are given a gospel of joy that nothing in this world can take away.

The Israelites depart from Mount Sinai with the newly constructed Tabernacle. The Cloud of God's personal presence is in their midst as they move through the wilderness. They move when and where the Cloud moves. And they camp around the Cloud when it stays still.  They orient their entire culture around the presence of God. Check out our Story of God podcast feed to find all the messages in on...

Moses prays one of the greatest prayers in the Bible: "Lord, show me your glory!" And God answers. Yahweh appears before Moses on Sinai, declaring his own name and identity. When Moses comes down the mountain, his face is radiating with the glory of God. Check out our Story of God podcast feed to find all the messages in one place. Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4v630V6S72VzXRgGk...

God gives Moses precise details for how to build the tabernacle, various laws for the people follow, and specific instructions for the sacrifices. These are the terms of the Sinai Covenant. For the first time since Eden, God brings his own personal presence and glory to live among humanity. Check out our Story of God podcast feed to find all the messages in one place. Spotify: https://open.spotify...

The primary goal of every human is to be God's image. Everything else we do is the overflow of that singular calling. We become the image by crucifying our flesh and beholding him.

Moses is receiving the Law on top of Sinai, but the Israelites down on the ground get nervous and impatient. They decide to make a golden calf and worship it as their new god instead. Although the covenant is broken shortly after it began, Moses the Mediator asks God to have mercy on them. Check out our Story of God podcast feed to find all the messages in one place. Spotify: https://open.spotify....

On Mount Sinai God gives Moses the Law. The Ten Commandments are at the heart of God's Law. And God himself carves them on tablets of stone. Through them God reveals his heart for how we should live as his covenant people. 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://podcasts...

Moses arrives back at Sinai with the Israelites. But this time the entire mountain is on fire. Thunder and lighting, a trumpet blast, and an earthquake occur as God himself descends onto the mountain. He enters into a covenant with the Israelites. It's a covenant marked by: grace, relationship, mission, blood, and meal. Check out our Story of God podcast feed to find all the messages in one pl...

Israel takes up the sword for the first time as the Amalekites attack. As long as Moses holds up his hands, victory is assured. Yahweh is the banner of victory for his people. 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://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-story-of-god-city-alive-c...

A month out from the Exodus, Israel grumbles without food and water. But God reveals his glory to them. He provides manna from heaven and water from a rock. Even though Israel is in new territory, they have the same God. 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://podcasts.apple...

Two short parables of the kingdom teach us that God's kingdom is good news and that it's a joy worth trading everything for.

A woman touches Jesus' garment and is immediately healed. This story teaches us to go beyond observing Jesus from a distance, and to press on to the place of encounter.

We groan, grieved at the brokenness of the world. Creation itself groans under its bondage to decay. And even the Spirit groans, with groanings too deep for words. But Paul tells that a day will come when our groans will give way to glory.

We all sin with our words in various ways. But a corrupted tongue is a symptom of a corrupted heart. But Jesus gives us new hearts and new tongues, set on fire by glory of God.

We close this series with 10 practical steps for spiritual warfare.

Jesus won the great victory over the enemy through his death and resurrection. Now he has placed his Spirit inside his followers so that we can implement his victory to the ends of the earth.

The good news of the gospel is not only that Jesus is the only true God (although he is), but also that he is the only true human. Jesus is the true and better Adam who is the perfect image of God. He has dominion over creation. Jesus' mission is to succeed where Adam failed by driving the enemy out of God's world. The first Adam shared his death with us, but the True Adam shares his resur...

The conflict which began in the garden continues as God said: the offspring of the woman are in conflict with the offspring of the serpent. Abraham and his family are the New Adam, blessed to multiply and have dominion. And like the first Adam, they are called to take possession of the land and drive out the enemy.

In the beginning God gave Adam and Eve dominion over all the creatures on earth. Yet when a serpent came into their garden, they gave their dominion away. This same story plays out again and again throughout the Bible, and it's still playing out in our lives. Will we allow the enemy into our lives or will we take our dominion and drive him out?

Jesus is surrounded by a crowd, and yet his eyes are fixed on one sinner who is looking to see him. The story of Zacchaeus displays the heart of Christ who comes to seek and save the lost.

The news of God's kingdom is like a seed. Not all of it bears fruit. But God can get a full harvest from a fraction of the seed. He has a super abundant remnant that will produce 30, 60, and 100-fold of what was sown.

Yokes are symbols of heavy weight and hard work. In life we often find ourselves weighed down by many things. But Jesus offers us his yoke. And his yoke leads to rest for our souls.

The idea of serving Jesus apart from a church is becoming increasingly common. But the church is Jesus' plan for the world. Community can wound, but it also heals. Every part of the body of Christ is necessary. We need the church and the church needs us.

We are engaged in a conflict with an enemy who wants to steal, and kill, and destroy. But in our spiritual battle, God has given us spiritual armor and weapons. The enemy wants us to think we are ill-equipped, but we have everything we need for a victorious life in Christ.