City of Light Church Aurora

"For so long I thought I was totally alone. Never have I been so thankful that I was wrong...that God is real!" — Karime

If Jesus is alive, then there is God, God loves me, and God offers his saving help as a free gift. This Easter Sunday as we celebrate in our homes, let Jesus' resurrection change everything! Do not go back to normal. Make your lives about the resurrection of Jesus! Obey all that he has commanded. Go and tell others that he is alive. In the last three weeks we have all become experts on the spread...

John 19 "If you stay long enough at the cross, you will see that it is Jesus who bears your sin not you. You will see that it is Jesus who heals and forgives, not your addictions and compulsions. You will see that it is Jesus who has loved you to the bitter end."

Psalm 78:15-26 Luke 22:7-19 John 13:1-15 Tonight we name the things in our world that have been shaken so we can take hold of a kingdom that is unshakable! We grieve what we have lost so we can hold fast to what can never be taken away: the family Jesus has placed us in, the feast he has prepared for us, the future he has planned for us!

Isaiah 45:18-25 We cry, "Hosanna, God help us." And God's promises to do so are public And their fulfillment is sure. He secured his promises to redeem all things with the most dramatic evidence. He entered into our suffering and death and ultimately the resurrection that we ourselves will one day experience. Our hope is in the Lord and we will not be disappointed.

Sickness and death in our world are scary—they are our enemy. But Jesus our friend loves us, grieves what grieves us, hates what hurts us, and fights to free us. Do not be afraid. In this world we will have trouble. But take heart! Jesus has overcome the world!

John 9:1-13, 28 -38 The Why of Suffering, the Way of Healing, and the Work of God. "How may Jesus be inviting you deeper into healing and closeness with him through this situation?" "Jesus heals us so we can be sent out to tell other people, it was Jesus who healed me."

Matthew 7:7-11 In times when we have a hard time feeling and believing that God is good, a simple and daily practice of gratitude is the door to the Father's heart. A couple weeks ago, I preached at a sister church on how giving thanks connects us to the goodness of God. When we give thanks, we receive God's good gifts, his presence with us, and his loving care. You can practice "God, thank you fo...

Psalm 46 In response to COVID-19, our diocese gathered online for a sermon from Bishop Stewart and prayers of intercession from Mama Katherine. The audio has an echo for the first 2 minutes and then clears up. You can find the text of the Ruch’s Neighbor Note here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1yfB8ya34DLdY6i9w1fG5b5oFa7_A-u5LRRf7ivLFCpM/edit?usp=sharing You can watch the message here: https...

WK6: Loving One Another (Ephesians 4:17-32) “You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.” SUMMARY: Unity requires transformation––the kind of transformation that occurs when we...

WK6: Loving One Another (Ephesians 4:17-32) “You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.” SUMMARY: Unity requires transformation––the kind of transformation that occurs when we...

2 Corinthians 5:17 - 6:10 God is working for your reconciliation. And God calls his church to the ministry of reconciliation.

Ephesians 2:19-20 As Christians, we read the Bible by ourselves, but we are never meant to read the Bible alone. We read the Bible as sons and daughters of our Father in heaven and as sons and daughters of the church. We read the Bible as part of a global and ancient family filled with the stories of God.

Ephesians 3:1-21 The mystery of the gospel is that it unites all peoples in God’s house by grace as siblings with him as our Father. We know the breadth of God’s love when we glimpse the breadth of his family. Because we can’t imagine reconciliation like that, Paul asks the Spirit to enlarge our imaginations to dream the dream of God. Revelation 7 is one picture of that future fulfillment.

Ephesians 2:11-22 “But now in Christ Jesus, you who were once far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.” SUMMARY: Through the blood of Christ, God has torn down the dividing wall of hostility between peoples and nations––Christ himself is the source of peace between those who were formerly at war with one another. In Christ, we have reconciliation with God and with one another. DISCUS...

Ephesians 2:1-10 1. We were dead in sin; but now we are alive in Christ 2. We were following the broken society; but now we are following a loving Father 3. We were enslaved by satan, but now we are adopted by God “To be in Christ is to be personally and vitally united to Christ, as branches are to the vine and members to the body, and thereby also to Christ’s people. For it is impossible to be pa...

Join Pastors Trevor, Eduardo, and Grace for an introduction to Paul's letter to the church in Ephesus. They discuss the main themes, outline, and background of the letter as well as how we will be studying it during our Una Familia series. Find more resources for study at http://www.cityoflightanglican.org/events/una-familia

What does it mean to be adopted into the family of God? What type of Father is this? Why would he offer adoption to us? "The Father invites all people to be adopted as sons and daughters so that we can know his love and kindness for eternity!" If God our Father adopts us into his family, then we are called to adopt. Not everyone is called to adopt, but what if the question changed from, “Lord are...

Ephesians 6:10-20 Deacon Casey shares from Ephesians 6 as we are called to "intercede for all the saints." "The armor of God works best in community." http://www.cityoflightanglican.org/events/day-of-prayer-1

The message of Ephesians is that many peoples are reunited as one family with one God and Father over all. We believe God is inviting us into this study to give us a deeper vision for unity, diversity, and maturity in our church. Chapters 1 - 3 Receiving Union with God and Union with One Another Chapters 4- 6 Living Union with God and Union with One Another In the family of God, we live lives of u...

Matthew 3:13-17 Artwork by Laura James, www.laurajamesart.com

The Letter to the Ephesians/Epistola a los Efesios Many Peoples, One Family, One God and Father of all./Muchos Pueblos, Una Familia, Un Solo Dios y Padre de Todos. Sundays, 10am, January 19 - March 31 Hill Elementary School, 724 Pennsylvania Ave. Aurora Domingo, 10am, 19 de enero - 31 de marzo Hill Elementary School, 724 Pennsylvania Ave. Aurora http://www.cityoflightanglican.org/events/una-famili...

Jeremiah 31:7-14 Psalm 84 Matthew 2

God came and was like you and me in every part of being born and being human so that he could save us and make us like him. He was born into the living room of a human family so that we could be reborn into the living room of his family. As you go home into your living room with your Christmas tree, remember, that Jesus made his home in our homes with us, so we could make our home in his home with...

Joseph didn’t choose for Mary to be pregnant and for the baby to not be his. But he did choose to be a father. He chose the public shame of raising a child that everyone else would call illegitimate to do exactly what the Lord had told him. And from this righteous man's costly obedience, Jesus learns what it means to say, "Not my will, but yours be done." Art Credit: "Joseph the Carpenter" by Geor...