City Line Church Sermons

Luke 2:8-20 Luke 2:8–20 invites us to discover Advent Joy through the unlikely experience of the shepherds—ordinary, overlooked people doing ordinary, overlooked work. In the quiet darkness of a routine night, heaven suddenly breaks in. An angel appears not to the powerful or the religious elite, but to those on the margins, declaring, “I bring you good news of great joy for all people.” Advent Jo...

Luke 1:26-38 Luke 1:26–38 reveals Advent Peace as heaven’s bold declaration into an anxious world. When the angel greets Mary with “peace” and “favor,” God announces that His mission of redemption is breaking into human history. Mary’s world was filled with political tension, social uncertainty, and personal risk—yet God’s peace meets her with purpose, not ease. Her faithful “yes” becomes the door...

Isaiah 9:1-7 Isaiah 9:1–7 invites us into the heart of Advent: a season that faces darkness honestly, yet refuses to believe darkness has the final word. Isaiah speaks to a people walking in deep gloom—burdened, confused, grieving, and unsure of the future. Into that reality, God sends a word of radiant promise: “The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light.” Advent Hope doesn’t deny...

Hebrews 13:20-21 The benediction, a blessing pronounced at the end of worship, is a reminder of God’s peace and His work in raising Jesus from the dead. It is a formal proclamation of God’s blessing, rooted in Scripture, and serves as a reminder of God’s presence and peace in the midst of life’s challenges. The benediction also sends worshippers out into the world, equipped to do God’s will. The f...

Acts 2:37-41 Through the lens of Acts 2:37-41 and the movement of the Spirit in the early church we see the significance of baptism in Christian worship. Christian baptism is a sacrament that signifies adoption into God’s family, cleansing from sin, and commitment to Christ and the church. This is in contrast to the broader cultural desire for spiritual rituals without substance compared to the pr...

1 Cor. 11:23-26 The Lord’s Supper is a vital and mysterious sacrament instituted by Jesus and passed down through the Church. It is appropriate that when we gather we remember Christ through the eating and drinking of His body and blood, symbolized in bread and wine. Just as the Word of God is received by faith and means of grace, so also in the Lord’s Supper we are by faith sealed with all the be...

1 Timothy 3:1-13 Ordination is not something we do at every worship service, but it is something incredibly special that we do occasionally in our worship service. For a young person like Timothy, it was incredibly important that Paul and other Christian leaders laid their hands on him and appointed and empowered him to be the pastor at Ephesus. This is the same for us today. We ordain our elders...

2 Timothy 3:16 - 4:4 The Apostle Paul wrote at least two letters to his young protege Timothy. Timothy was installed as the pastor of the church at Ephesus and in 2 Timothy 4, Paul instructed him to “Preach the Word. Be prepared in season and out of season.” This same command applies to all pastors in Christian churches today. At City Line Church, preaching the “God-Breathed” Word faithfully is ce...

Joshua 8:34-35 & 1 Timothy 4:13 The reading and hearing of Scripture is one of the most important acts of worship during the worship service. In our society and culture in general, we have less and less awareness and understanding of Scripture. We rarely see or interact with Scripture outside of Sunday morning. Reading Scripture in worship helps us maintain the centrality of the Bible in our l...

Acts 4:23-31 One of the central acts of worship is the intercessory prayer. The “prayers of the people” in the worship service is spoken by someone or multiple people in the congregation on behalf of the congregation. The prayers of the people, at its core, is an intercessory prayer. It is a prayer calling on God as priestly intercessors for each other in the church, for our region, and for our wo...

2 Corinthians 9:1-15 Talking about money and giving in church can be a little awkward, but the Bible has important things to say about the topic. There are at least two different ways that churches can get off track with financial giving. First are the churches that never ever talk about money. “Let’s not talk about money, let’s just talk about God.” As if God has nothing to say about how his peop...

Romans 1:7 & 16:16 A time of greeting one another during the worship service can seem like a clever way to keep people awake and caffeinated, or a convenient way to make space for taking our children to their classes for worship. And for some introverts, it is the most dreaded 210 seconds of their week. But there are very important practical, biblical and theological reasons for our time of gr...

1 John 1:8-9 & James 5:16 Confessing our sins together as the whole body of Christ in a worship service can feel like a strange thing to do. Especially for those who didn’t grow up in more liturgical traditions. But, at a most fundamental level, why do we confess our sins as Christians? We do it because we are all sinners. When we confess our sins, we admit this truth, even if we didn’t strugg...

Colossians 3:16 & Ephesians 5:18-20 Christians are regularly encouraged to sing praises to God in Scripture. We sing praises to God in our worship services because we are invited and even commanded to sing. We sing praises to God in our worship services so God’s Word goes deep into our souls. And, we sing praises to God in our worship services simply because it brings glory to God. Singing has...

Psalm 100 The Call to Worship reminds us of God’s presence and invites us to worship him. We are invited to turn our attentions and affections to our Lord and Creator. It can be hard to put away all the distractions and anxieties of our weeks, but the Call to Worship brings us into a space where we can quiet our minds and worship the King and Lover of our souls. In this sermon we’ll consider the r...

Revelation 22:6-21 This sermon concludes a series on 3 Strange Prayers, focusing on the final prayer in the Bible, “Come, Lord Jesus.” This prayer, offered by John in Revelation, reflects the enduring hope of Christians for Jesus’ return. It signifies the end of suffering, the establishment of God’s kingdom, and the fulfillment of God’s promises. This prayer and Jesus’ return signifies three key p...

1 Samuel 1:4-11 Hannah, yearning for a child, endured years of infertility and mockery from her husband’s second wife, Peninnah. Despite her husband’s inadequate comfort, Hannah turned to God in persistent prayer, promising to dedicate her son to His service. God answered her prayer, granting her a son, Samuel, whom she later gave to the Temple, demonstrating her faith and commitment to God’s will...

Numbers 11:10-15 The people of Israel are moaning and complaining at the VERY beginning of their “wanderings in the wilderness.” They will regularly show themselves to be rebellious and stubborn people. This grumbling of the people makes the Lord angry and Moses, their leader, frustrated. Moses surprisingly offers a prayer of challenge to the Lord. In the raw and real prayer, he even goes so far a...

Galatians 6:11-18 Here Paul concludes his letter to the Galatians and highlights the central message of his letter: That neither circumcision nor uncircumcision means anything; what counts is the new creation. Paul reveals true motivations of the Judiazers: to avoid persecution and to boast in getting Gentiles circumcised. Should we avoid persecution? Can we take pride in our worldly accomplishmen...

Galatians 6:1-10 In an episode of the podcast “Radio Lab,” they explore how trees and forests thrive through underground root systems and fungal networks, demonstrating a model of community and mutual support. This principle is echoed by Paul in Galatians 6, where Christians are commanded to carry one another’s burdens in three specific ways: restoring those caught in transgressions, supporting th...

Galatians 5:16-26 The struggle between right and wrong, good and evil, sin and righteousness is a battle waged within every Christian. This battle is between the desires of the flesh and the desires of the Spirit, a civil war within the heart, mind, soul, and body. Surrendering to sin, characterized by habitual and unrepentant behavior, results in eternal separation from God. Paul encourages us th...

Galatians 5:1-15 Paul gets to the very heart of the argument of his letter to his old friends. They are free in Christ Jesus, the agitators who are leading them astray are in real trouble and will face judgment, and those that are free in Christ should use their freedom to serve and love their neighbors. The warning language to both the Christians in Asia Minor and the false teachers leading them...

Galatians 4:21-31 In this section of Paul’s letter, he uses a nuanced argument from the Old Testament. He uses the story of Hagar/Sarah and Ishmael/Isaac allegorically or in a typological way to help us understand the difference between a covenant of works compared to a covenant of Grace. Paul ultimately wants his friends and us today to understand that there is a HUGE difference between people wh...

Galatians 4:8-20 Paul is personally and pastorally very concerned about his friends in Asia Minor who are following false teachers that are leading them away from the Gospel of Jesus Christ. These instigators are also putting a dividing wedge between the churches in Asia Minor and Paul himself. So, Paul passionately encourages them, and us 2,000 some years later, that true children of God are buil...

Galatians 3:15-29 Paul begins a deeper exposition on the meaning and purpose of the Old Testament Law. The Law certainly has its place in the lives of the people of God, however the promised seed and the future fulfillment of Law is much better than the Law itself. The Law, according to Paul, is not contrary to the Promise of the Gospel in Jesus, but is a kind of guardian. A caretaker until the pr...