City Chapel NYC

Canva Slides Full Summary and Reflection Questions The fifth commandment tells us to honor our father and mother—but for many, that word carries baggage. It can sound like a call to perform, to obey without question, to stay silent about pain. Before real honor is possible, honesty has to come first: honest about how the people we're supposed to honor may have caused us deep pain, and honest...

Full Summary and Discussion Questions Jesus encounters a crowd that has grown up around the things of God and is still hungry, weary, and searching for hope. Rather than turning them away, He has compassion on them and welcomes them into His care. While the disciples focus on what they lack, Jesus focuses on what He can do. He takes their small offering, multiplies it, and feeds thousands. In the...

Full Summary and Reflection Questions We spend much of our lives searching for fulfillment—in success, security, relationships, purpose, or better circumstances. In Luke 4, Jesus stands in the synagogue, reads from Isaiah, and makes a stunning claim: “Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.” He declares that the hopes, longings, and promises people have been waiting for are fulfilled in...

Full Sermon Summary and Discussion Questions Jesus describes the kingdom of God as a mustard seed that grows into a great tree. Though it begins small, hidden, and easily overlooked, it is moving toward something expansive, beautiful, and restorative. The endgame of the kingdom shapes how we live now: God is building something far greater than we can presently see. The challenge is that the kingdo...

Full Sermon Summary and Discussion Questions FIND, SELL, BUY // Matthew 13:44-46 In Matthew 13:44–46, Jesus compares the Kingdom to a treasure buried in a field and a pearl of great value—something people pass by every day without recognizing its worth. The kingdom appears in overlooked places, among ordinary people, and through a King the world did not expect. To receive the kingdom requires a co...

Full Sermon Summary and Discussion Questions We often try to understand Jesus while staying safely in the crowd—close enough to listen, but distant enough to avoid surrender. But in Matthew 13, Jesus leaves the crowd and goes into the house, and only the disciples follow Him there. The movement is intentional: the kingdom is not understood from a distance. It is received by those willing to step c...

Full Sermon Summary and Discussion Questions We long to grow, yet we often wonder why the life of God doesn’t seem to take root as deeply as we expect. In Matthew 13:1–23, Jesus tells a simple story about a sower and seeds—but beneath it is a searching truth: the issue is never the generosity of God, but the condition of our hearts. The same word is scattered everywhere, the same invitation extend...

Full Summary and Discussion Questions In Matthew 13:10–17, Jesus speaks in parables, not to obscure truth, but to reveal something deeper: that the kingdom of God is not merely information to grasp, but a reality to receive. His stories draw a line between hearing and truly perceiving, between listening and actually responding. And so the question shifts from What is Jesus saying? to How are we re...

Full Summary and Discussion Questions We often want our stories to end with clear victories, but in 2 Samuel 22, David ends his life with a song. After all the highs and failures, he looks back and realizes that even in the promised land, life still felt like a wilderness. Yet it was in that very place that he encountered God most deeply. The wilderness was not wasted. It became the place where Da...

Full Summary and Discussion Questions We often want to hide our failures, minimize them, or move past them quickly. But in 2 Samuel 11–12, David’s story forces us to face a hard truth: even the best can fall, and when they do, the consequences are real. His failure is not a single moment, but a spiral—neglect, desire, action, and destruction—showing how sin grows when it is left unaddressed. Sin i...

Full Summary and Discussion Questions At the center of the Christian faith is one defining reality: the resurrection of Jesus. In 1 Corinthians 15, Paul makes it clear that everything hangs on this. If Jesus did not rise, then faith is empty, sin remains, and death still has the final word. But if He has been raised, then everything changes. The resurrection is not an optional belief—it is the fou...

Full Summary and Discussion Questions Over time, life can quietly form cynicism in us—lowering our expectations and dulling our sense of awe. But in 2 Samuel 7, David shows us a different way: a life marked by wonder. At rest and established as king, he begins to ask a deeper question: What is God worth? His desire to build God a house flows from a heart that wants to align everything—his ambition...

Full Summary and Discussion Questions We often give parts of our lives to God, while holding other parts back—guarded by fear, pride, or the need to appear in control. In 2 Samuel 6, David shows us a different response. As the presence of God returns, he celebrates with everything he has—dancing freely, even to the point of looking foolish. His joy is not about appearances, but about the reality t...

Slides Full Summary and Discussion Questions We all carry grief, disappointment, and pain—but many of us have learned to hide our tears. We equate composure with strength and emotion with weakness. Yet unexpressed grief does not disappear; it goes underground. In 2 Samuel 1, Scripture invites us into a different way: lament—the act of honestly bringing our pain before God. Tears are truth tellers....

Full Summary and Discussion Questions We will all face moments when someone brings real pain into our lives. The question is not whether we will be hurt, but what we will do with that hurt. In 1 Samuel 24, David finds himself living in the wilderness, pursued by Saul, the very king he once served. When the opportunity for revenge finally appears, David chooses a different path. Instead of taking j...

Full Summary and Discussion Questions At the height of his power, David does something no one expects. Instead of eliminating the remnants of Saul’s household, he asks if there is anyone left to whom he can show covenant kindness. In 2 Samuel 9, strength expresses itself not through dominance, but through hesed—steadfast, promise-keeping love. The search leads to Mephibosheth, a man with no levera...

Full Summary and Discussion Questions We long for joy, yet we live in a world marked by evil, suffering, and death. We often assume that if sorrow is present, joy must be absent. But in John 16:20–22, Jesus is utterly honest: “You will weep and lament… you will be sorrowful.” He does not deny the pain of life—He names it. Yet He also makes a staggering promise: “Your sorrow will turn into joy.” No...

Full Summary and Discussion Questions We spend much of our lives giving our hearts to things that promise security—careers, approval, success, or control. We look for something visible and strong to organize our lives, but the wrong kings always take more than they give. 1 Samuel 16 shows a different kind of King and a different kind of life. While others chase appearance and achievement, God look...

Full Summary and Discussion Questions Jesus says that we were made for "Full Joy" -- marked by awe, wonder, delight, security, and peace.  Yet, the reality is that locating joy can be difficult and the pursuit of joy can be dysfunctional. So, how do we come to experience the "full joy" that Jesus promises?

Full Summary and Discussion Questions January mornings are often slow, quiet, and heavy—the first half hour of the day can feel like just waking up. Yet that early, honest moment can become sacred when we allow God to meet us there. Isaiah 63–64 shows us how facing reality—our guilt, fatigue, or disconnection—opens space for God’s presence. The invitation is simple: in the first half hour, honestl...

Full Summary and Discussion Questions So much of how we relate to God is shaped by how we’ve related to our earthly fathers. Our expectations of God—how close He feels, how patient we believe He is, what we think He requires of us—are often informed by those early relationships. Which leads to an honest and necessary question: Have I actually been living like a child of God? Even when we intellect...

Slides Full Recap Beginnings Matter How we start things shapes what follows. The beginning sets the direction, the tone, and the posture of our hearts. But instead of beginning the year with a focus on the will we exert (e.g. resolutions that stems from an experience of insecurity), we begin with a focus on what we receive! The priestly blessing in Numbers 6:24–26 is repeated because it is meant t...

Full Recap Story from Patrick Kim At the core of Christian celebration of Christmas is a single question with a truth so staggering, it is what theologian, J.I. Packer, described as the “supreme mystery” of Gospel.  Scripture is honest that this truth—God becoming human—can be difficult to comprehend. Luke 1–2 shows us that God does not simply announce this staggering reality; He prepares us to re...

For Images Referenced in the Sermon In 2 Corinthians 1, Paul reminds the church that God is “the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort,” who comforts us in our affliction—not by removing suffering, but by joining us in it.  Jean shows us from this passage that comfort is not optional in the life of God’s people—it is essential. God meets us in suffering, and then sends us to carry that s...