City Alive Church

Before Jesus is born, John is born. Before moments of great renewal, God sends forerunners to prepare his way and announce his coming. God invites us to follow him into the wilderness so he can shape us into the forerunners he is calling us to be.

This is our Advent series: God With Us. Throughout Advent we look back to Jesus' arrival in the world so that we can prepare ourselves for a fresh arrival of God in our midst today. In this message Joey preaches from Matthew's genealogy about Jesus as the solution to the world's story and to our personal stories as well.

This week a panel of speakers share about God's heart for orphans. They address common misconceptions about foster care and adoption, and ways to get involved.

Life is full of storms. Our hope is not for perfect weather, but in the One who has authority over the wind and the waves.

Guest speaker, Ryan Moore, shares about the work he leads with Builders International, which partners with churches and missionaries around the world. Every believer is called to join the mission Jesus has given us to bring the gospel to the ends of the earth.

Joey preaches from Colossians 1:13-20 about the supreme worth and value of Jesus over all the idols of this world.

Water baptism is about being joined to Jesus, so that his death, resurrection, and ascension become our own. And not only are we joined to Jesus, but we are also joined to his church. Also included (on the front end) is a statement Joey made on how Christians should pray for the situation in Israel and Palestine.

This week Josh speaks prophetically about what true renewal is, and what it is not. The coming renewal is about the natural activity of the church taking care of widows and orphans. And the supernatural life of God bringing the dead to life.

This week we contrast the "Life Together" model of Jesus' ministry with the typical ministry of most American churches: "The Spectator Event" model. True Renewal isn't only about the miraculous, it will also be about ordinary life together.

In spite of all our hurry and important tasks, only one thing really matters: love for Yahweh. This week we experienced the presence of God in a unique way, and Joey shared from his heart about saying yes to Jesus above all else.

The church in the West has been in a period of radical decline for generations. But every time in history it looked like Jesus' church was dead, it has been resurrected. Great renewals are born from moments like this.

This week we explore what God says about sex. God's standard always leads to life and flourishing while sin always leads to death. But the good news is that God loves sinners. He takes us out of our sin, washes us, and makes us new.

This week Joey shares a word from the Lord about the new thing God wants to do in our lives and in our church.

When we are bound by heavy yokes, Jesus offers us his yoke which leads to rest. More than anything, discipleship is about being paired to Jesus in an apprentice relationship.

So often we yoke ourselves to people and things that don't lead to life, and we end up weighed down with heavy burdens. In Matthew 11:28-30 Jesus offers us his yoke which leads to rest for our souls.

This week Heather teaches us about reaching the lost, using the strategy Jesus taught his followers in Luke 10:1-11. We find a person of peace and announce the good news of God's kingdom.

This week our guest speaker, Daniel Houck, teaches about opening ourselves to the Holy Spirit. As we step out in faith, the Spirit will move through us to those around us.

This week we see the beautiful restoration of Job at the end of the book. Job's redemption points ahead to the resurrection of Jesus, who conquers all suffering. Job's happy ending foreshadows the world's happy ending in Christ.

When we demand answers from God, sometimes God decides to speak back. In Job 38-41 God reminds Job that he alone is the Sovereign Creator and Sustainer of the cosmos, and his ways are far beyond our ability to fathom.

The large bulk of the book of Job (ch. 3-37) is a dialogue with Job and his friends. In these chapters, we learn language for our questions and our pain. We learn that God can handle our hurt, disappointment, and grief. As we give it to God, we move through it to a place of trust in God.

This week we see a glimpse into God's divine council in heaven, where an adversary seeks to oppose Job. In spite of horrific pain and loss, Job chooses to bless the name of Yahweh.

This week we see Job's righteous living, even in his prosperity. He was holy and just, loving God and neighbor well. Job's life is not only a model for us, but he is also a foreshadowing of the truly Righteous One to come.

This week Joey starts a new series on Job. This book is part of the wisdom literature of the Bible. It doesn't give us all the answers to our questions, but it does give us wisdom to navigate the storms of life.

What do we do when the storms of life come? David tells us to bless the holy name of Yahweh, to delight in his loyal love, and to remember all his benefits.

This week Joey preaches from John 11 about the resurrection of Lazarus. John's Gospel teaches us that Life has a name: Jesus. And because he called our name, we are rescued from our death in the grave.