Citylight South

When we lose sight of the finish line, we drift toward complacency—but the resurrection of Christ calls us to endurance and hope. To fully enjoy God, we must be fully transformed by Him, and that transformation will come in an instant, in the twinkling of an eye, at Christ’s return. Death does not have the final word in our stories because Jesus has defeated sin and the grave through His resurrect...

Money is a good gift, but it makes a terrible god. Matthew 6:24 tells us we cannot serve both God and money. Solomon—who had immense wealth— testifies that it only left him wanting for more. Only Jesus, the giver of all good gifts, can truly satisfy. May we find our true contentment in Him.

Work is a gift—but it makes a terrible god. This week in Prepare Him Room, we reflected on how achievement and productivity can quietly replace Jesus as the source of our worth. Ecclesiastes reminds us that true joy isn’t found in what we build, but in who we trust. Only Christ can restore our work to what it was meant to be.

We’re all chasing something to make life feel full, but Ecclesiastes 2 reminds us that pleasure makes a terrible god. Solomon tested every form of enjoyment, success, comfort, and indulgence to see if anything under the sun could hold the weight of his soul. None of it delivered. Our culture keeps selling us the next experience, the next purchase, the next escape, yet the more we consume, the more...

Ecclesiastes 1:12–18 reminds us that even the greatest wisdom and knowledge can’t satisfy the deepest longings of our hearts. Solomon discovered that chasing understanding apart from God only leads to frustration, pride, and grief. This Advent, we’re invited to lay down the idol of intellect—our desire to find fulfillment in information, insight, or being “right”—and prepare room for Christ, the t...

Bartimaeus may have been physically blind, but he saw Jesus more clearly than anyone else. In Mark 10:46–52, he cries out for mercy, Jesus stops for him, heals him, and he immediately follows. Spiritual blindness creeps in when we cling to pride, comfort, or old identities. Jesus invites us to admit our need, cast off what holds us back, and follow Him with a clear heart and open hands.

Jesus shows that true greatness isn’t found in status but in service. In Mark 10:32–45, He leads His disciples toward the cross and teaches that the Son of Man came not to be served, but to serve—and to give His life as a ransom for many.

In Mark 10, Jesus teaches that only those who receive the kingdom of God like a child will enter it. The rich young man reveals how self-righteousness and self-reliance keep us from fully depending on God, while the disciples show us the beauty of humble, childlike trust. True faith means releasing control, resting in God’s promises, and following Jesus wherever He leads—believing that His way is...

In Mark 10:1–12, Jesus lifts our eyes to see marriage the way God intended—from a man-centered contract to a God-ordained covenant. While the Pharisees treated marriage and divorce casually, Jesus points back to creation, reminding us that God Himself joins husband and wife together as one flesh. Sin and hardness of heart may break what God designed to be whole, but the good news is that Jesus—the...

In light of what Jesus accomplished on the cross, we’re called to orient our lives around Him. That means choosing serving over status, Christ over credit, and exchanging pride for purpose. The greatest human to ever walk the earth became the lowest—for you. The economy of God looks radically different from the world’s. How are you living in light of the truth of the gospel?

As we continued our series in Mark this week, we were reminded that God is with us both in the mountain-top moments of life and in seasons of deep grief and desperation. May we remember to stay near to the Father in both seasons and find fullness of joy in His presence.

Even as believers, we’re prone to spiritual amnesia. When we forget Jesus’ past faithfulness, it can distort how we see His character—especially when life feels out of control. That’s why one of the most repeated commands in Scripture is to remember: remember who He is and all He’s done. Spiritual growth happens as Jesus comes into clearer focus when we pursue Him, trusting that He is always faith...

This week, College Ministry Resident Trent Marshall continued our series in the Gospel of Mark, teaching from Mark 8:1–26. In this passage, we see Jesus heal a little girl oppressed by a demon, reminding us that our deepest needs are His highest concerns. Trent pointed us to the Person of our faith, the Power of faith, and the Picture of faith, showing that when we bring our needs to Jesus, He res...

In Mark 7:1–23, Jesus exposes the futility of man-made religion. The Pharisees clung to rituals, believing they could make them clean, but Jesus makes clear the true problem isn’t dirty hands—it’s a defiled heart. No amount of scrubbing, no tradition or rule, can wash away the sin that flows from within us. But the good news is this: what religion cannot reach, Jesus restores. Through His sacrific...

In Mark 6:30–56, Jesus feeds thousands with just five loaves and two fish and later walks on water, revealing Himself as the great “I AM.” The disciples had nothing close to enough, but Jesus took what little they offered and multiplied it until all were satisfied. We often feel the same—weak, unprepared, inadequate—but Jesus invites us to bring Him what we have and trust Him with it. A little in...

This past weekend, Alex Leyva continued our sermon series in the Gospel of Mark. Sharing the good news can sometimes feel overwhelming, or like something we’re not qualified to do. But we were reminded that the gospel is more powerful than our past or our qualifications. God invites us into the work of His Kingdom, and by sealing us with His Spirit, He moves powerfully through us as we allow Him t...

On the final week of our Core Values series, Doug Johnston walked us through our value of Out. We were reminded that God's call to join Him in spreading the good news of the gospel isn’t just a divine invitation—it’s imperative. God didn’t rescue us from sin so we could sit on the sidelines. He filled us with His Spirit so that we might join Him in His mission and help others come to know Him...

This week we explored our core value of In. As God's chosen people, we are made to live in gospel community that flows out of our identity in Christ. But what does that look like? It looks a lot like Jesus—showing compassion, walking in humility, considering others more highly than ourselves, and sticking with one another for the long haul. It means faithfully serving each other in love and s...

This past Sunday, Alex Leyva continued our Core Values series by focusing on our value of Up: Spiritual Formation. So what exactly does spiritual formation mean? At its heart, it’s the transforming truth of the gospel that changes us and allows us to walk in freedom with Christ. A Spirit-led life is a spiritually formed life. As we walk daily with Jesus, He shapes us into people who reflect Himsel...

This past weekend, Ricky kicked off our Core Values sermon series. This series takes a look at our core values of Down, Up, In and Out as a church. We looked at the core value of Down and how God pours into our lives. The foundation of our life in Christ is based on His forgiveness of us while we were still dead in our sin. We are reminded and grateful for God stepping into our mess to make us ali...

When life gets hard, who will you cling to? When it feels like he delays to answer a desperate prayer, how do you respond? We are reminded that God's delays are by divine design—they are never careless! Jesus is near to the broken hearted. There is no better healer, no greater hope, no safer hands than Jesus!

Not only does Jesus have authority over darkness and the things that chain us, He has the power to redeem those stories into beautiful testimonies of His power and goodness. Evil is strong, but Jesus is stronger. 🙌

This week, Elder Jason Hietbrink continued our series in the Gospel of Mark by looking at the disciples’ response to Jesus sleeping in the boat during a fierce storm. Like them, we can easily lose sight of who’s with us when life feels out of control. But this passage reminds us that the sovereign, powerful God of the universe is not only present in our storms—He cares deeply and personally as we...

Are we humbly and eagerly listening to God's word? Are we patiently and confidently sharing the Word of God? These are some of the questions Elder Eric Knoll asked as continued through our series in the Gospel of Mark. We are so encouraged and blessed to be invited into the work of the Kingdom of God!