City Rev Church

What is the most important thing to make a thriving marriage? Some believe it is compatibility. If they find the right person who fits them, they will be happy. There are many other good contenders like friendship, communication, and trust. But according to the Bible, the single most important attribute someone can have is love. This is something that doesn’t sound strange to us. Our culture has p...

Insiders. Those that are in the right groups, have the right status, or know the right people. Almost every sphere of life has them. But what does someone who’s on the “inside” look like when it comes to spiritual things? Maybe spiritual insiders are those who know a lot about their faith. They are well read and can answer people’s questions. Maybe it’s the people who are really loving and hospita...

Control. That is a tough thing to give up. It’s not just “control freaks” that want control. We all do. Some could say it’s the hardest thing to give up. But what about glory? Glory is hard to pass up. Deflecting recognition or praise for something is not our instinct. What about letting someone else get credit when you deserve some too? That’s not easy. But which is harder? Would you be happier g...

Think about the idiom “climb the ladder.” We use it in a couple different spheres of life: “climb the corporate ladder,” or “climb the social ladder,” or just “climb the ladder of success.” In our culture we intend to desire a general upward trajectory. We even use the phrase “upwardly mobile,” to communicate someone improving their general situation economically or socially. It is interesting tha...

He had everything you could want out of his life. Wealth? He had boatloads. Connections? He rubbed shoulders with the most significant people of the time. Power? He was a war hero, that now had armies at his command. He even made a splash in the fashion world. There was one major problem... he had leprosy. But the sickness in his heart was actually worse than the disease on his skin. Despite all h...

The story of David defeating Goliath is one of the most famous stories in the entire body. It has even become symbolic and idiomatic in our culture. We might say something like “face down your giants” that alludes to the story. But what if the story is actually a symbol of an even more famous literary framework in history? A close look at the story reveals a young hero slaying a monster in order t...

04-02-17 SENT to The World by City Rev Church

You know, Christians and non-Christians alike have heard of Jesus. Many know some facts and even some stories, but do they really get the message that Jesus brought with Him? It’s amazing to see how easy it is to think we are in “control,” and overestimate just about everything about ourselves. But Jesus has a unique message that strikes at the heart of who we think we are and what we think we can...

There are two good friends that for some reason people always think are fighting. Some even think these two are enemies that can never be reconciled. But they are not really at odds at all. In fact, they love being together, always drawing the best out of each other. They are miserable when they are apart. You would never want one without the other. Who are these two friends? Love and Truth. Some...

In The Ring, Part 1: Tolerance vs. Grace by City Rev Church

Expect the unexpected when you study the Bible. Most would probably think the scripture teaches that we need to enjoy our earthly treasures less. But surprise, God actually says that he wants to teach us how to enjoy the blessings He’s given us. First, He teaches us that contentment with what we have, not the constant craving for more, is key to enjoying what we’ve been given. But more than that,...

Activate, Part 3: Compulsive Generosity by City Rev Church

It’s 9pm. You are sitting on the couch, winding down from the day in front of the television. You were minding your own business, when a commercial came on that changed everything. It must have been the close up camera angles on the melted cheese. In slow motion the thick strands of mozzarella endlessly trail from the piping hot slice to the rest of the pizza. Somehow now you can even smell the cr...

Imagine for a second that you invest hundreds of thousands of dollars in a brand new sports car, but are so afraid of scratching the paint that you never take it out of the the garage. What if you inherited a priceless work of art, but all of your life it sat collecting dust in your attic. What a waste. There’s no question it is a tragedy to have access to a tremendous resource, but leave it unuti...

Struggling With God by City Rev Church

What if you decided to get into the business of flipping houses. So, you buy a fixer-upper, that needs a ton of work. You gut the whole thing. You put in a lot of hours and a lot of money. And at the end of all the renovation, the house looks beautiful. You are ready to sell. But there’s one major problem: the location is abysmal. The realtor informs you that it is pretty much hopeless to get some...

Analyzing a big decision and not knowing what to do can be exasperating. If you’ve been in that situation, maybe you’ve gotten to a place where you just wish someone could come alongside of you and tell you what the right decision is. What if we could have a life coach that always knew the right answer. What if they always could perfectly direct us. The Bible claims to be that for us. It says that...

“Read your Bible.” We’ve heard it before. It’s not new. It doesn’t seem profound. It’s not some radically innovative statement. So then what get’s in the way? We’re busy. It’s hard to find the time. That’s not just an excuse, it’s true. But deep down we only move Bible study down the priority list because we see it as something to check off our already over-extended to do lists. But what if we saw...

When you were a kid did you ever do that science experiment where you put a stalk of celery in water with food coloring in it? What happened? After a while you could see the colored water working its way up the stalk. After a while the celery started taking on more and more the color of the water. This is not unlike our lives. There are many things all around us that we let influence us. After a w...

Of all the things that you have, what would you consider priceless? What are the things you would grab if your house was on fire? What if you knew that there were people who have died to make the Bible available to the world? We learn what makes the Bible so valuable in the story of King Josiah. The Bible was forgotten and collecting dust in the temple. And Israel had gotten completely entangled i...

Essentially all renovation projects begin in the same way. Whether it’s your favorite HGTV show or the house project that’s taking much longer to finish than you had originally anticipated, every renovation begins with demolition day. Before the new and updated can be brought in, the old and outdated must be taken out. Throughout this series, we’re talking about how all of our lives are under reno...

It’s a brand new year. It feels like a blank slate, a fresh start. What do you think you will say 12 months from now? What will define 2017? It would be ideal if you could look back on this year and say it was defined by one word - BLESSED. Imagine, you look back on each category and with a huge exhale of relief you can say that while it wasn’t necessarily easy, your life across the board is in a...

New Year’s Day always feels like a fresh start. You have a whole new year in front of you. You might even have some big goals for this year. Maybe this is the year you hit a big number in your business. Or it’s the year you pursue that promotion. Or you are determined to get out of debt or save for a big purchase. Maybe this is the year you decide to settle down or have a child. With all of the go...

There is so much that we are troubled about and frightened over. In the Christmas season life doesn't stop, and many of us arrive at Christmas overspent, under prepared and over anxious. We celebrate with all the bright lights, busy people, gifts and parties but nothing has really changed. We’re still anxious, we’re still afraid of so much. The true story has not impacted us and we hide in all our...

One of the most memorable icons from the Charlie Brown Christmas Special, is Charlie Brown’s tree. In the midst of all the glimmering, multicolored, modern aluminum trees, there is a humble tree that can barely keep its needles on the branches. Linus is surprised they still make wooden trees. But that is the tree that Charlie Brown chooses. The unlikely one. And in the end of the movie, it is the...