Damascus Road Community Church

We continue this week in our series “He is Risen Indeed!” by taking a look at how the Jesus movement went viral. Working through the first couple of chapters in the book of Acts, we will discover some crucial insights on the kind of people we were created to be and the amazing, tremendous, expansive task our Lord began at Easter and now trusts us with. Just like the world of the early church, a wo...

He is Risen! He is Risen, Indeed!   This ancient call and response - known as the “paschal greeting” - is a familiar Easter tradition. But why do we say this? What do we mean, what do we understand when we say these words?   When the sun dawned on Easter morning, no human yet grasped that reality had fundamentally changed - a shift in history, in the fabric of the universe had occurred. But the mo...

This week I was reflecting on Paul’s Spirit-inspired words to the church at Corinth in 2 Corinthians 8:9 as we stand in reverence and awe before a blood-stained cross, an empty tomb, and the rock-solid promise of eternal life in Christ. It’s been two long years of a pandemic, the relentless march of a devastating virus, the loss of loved ones, the masks, lock downs and quarantines. We have all fel...

If you look back at your life and focus on the moments that you made some of your biggest mistakes, they were most likely times when you were bored. Bored with nothing to do, bored at work or school, bored relationally, or just bored with life in general. The Old Testament of the Bible closes with the book of Malachi, which talks about the people of that time being bored. But in its final chapter...

Malachi burst into the scene at a time when the people seemed preoccupied, apathetic, distracted and wondering if following God made any sense. He did the same for us last weekend as we dove into this little book with a big message. He challenged us and got us energized to move from apathetic faith to a life of vibrant commitment to God. This weekend, we’ll hang out with Malachi some more and hear...

The prophet who wrote the last book of the Old Testament, Malachi, has an important message for the people of his time and ours – namely, how we can live our best lives. His words are the last prophetic word of God until John the Baptist appears on the scene, some four centuries later. Malachi calls people out of an apathetic commitment to a vibrant relationship with God. His words contain the rea...

“For God has not destined us for wrath, but for obtaining salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us, so that whether we are awake or asleep, we will live together with Him. Therefore, encourage one another and build one another up, just as you also are doing.” 1 Thessalonians 5:9-11 Jesus and the apostles took many opportunities to encourage through word and deed. The apostles also...

“Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle.” – Philo of Alexandria “For me, forgiveness and compassion are always linked: how do we hold people accountable for wrongdoing and yet at the same time remain in touch with their humanity enough to believe in their capacity to be transformed?” – Gloria Jean Watkins (aka bell hooks) It is so cliché and yet so unavoidably true: sometimes the...

“Bear one another’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.” Galatians 6:2   Last week we learned what it means to love as Christ loves. We learned that to really understand what love looks like, what love does, how love acts, we must look to Christ and respond as Christ responds. We love because He loved – and oh, how he loved us and loves us!   This good news of the gospel e...

"Beloved, let us love one another..." - 1 John 4:7 A simple command. Not easy to do! It wasn’t easy for God either. He sent his son as a sacrifice for us - because He loved us. To show us what love looked like. To show us what love does. Only in light of who He is and what He has done for us, does God call us to love one another. Join us this week for Week 2 of our One Another series, as we look a...

What does a sick woman, an insane man & a dead girl have in common? They were alone… The woman was bleeding, hopeless, alone in the middle of a crowd… The man was living alone in a cave. Not safe to himself or anyone else… And the girl, she was lying in a room. Alone, dead, beyond help & hope. This Sunday we start a new series, "The Genius of One Another”. For the next five weeks we will be doing...

My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from helping me, from the words of my groaning? O my God, I cry by day, but you do not answer; and by night, but find no rest. Psalm 22:1-2 These words give voice to the experience of utter aloneness and despair that too often overwhelms many of us in the darkest points in our lives. Often these dark points are precipitated by deep traum...

During week One in this sermon series on God and Mental Health, we heard Pastor Rajendra Pillai lay the groundwork for this very important discussion. It’s time to break the silence, it’s ok to admit that we need help, and it’s ok to seek and get help! We all need it, including our children and youth who are facing unique and unprecedented challenges. Everyone has a part to play in reaching the ne...

Mental health challenges have risen sharply in our nation during the pandemic and yet, it remains somewhat of a taboo subject in churches. Being a Christian doesn’t mean you are immune from mental health challenges. But we also know that the Gospel is everywhere, even in the shadows of mental health issues. You are worth everything it takes to get better. We want to be a church community that acce...

Last Sunday, we looked at three resolutions we will not regret in 2022. We dreamed who we could become and what we could do if our entire church community made these resolutions together for a new beginning and we helped each other live them out. The goal being that we become a community that is fully devoted to our God and displays outrageous love for people. I can’t wait for the incredible stori...

Happy New Year! About half of us make New Year’s resolutions. Within weeks, many give up and only one out of five of us stick to the original resolutions as we get caught up in the busyness of life or get plain distracted. Change is hard, but a new year offers us a new opportunity to live the flourishing life Jesus promises us. What if our entire church community made some resolutions together for...

While 2021 is behind us, the ongoing pandemic season has been filled with learning moments for all of us. Not everything has been bad. Difficult seasons often help bring laser like focus to things that are truly important. It has the potential to help us stay rooted and established and grow stronger in the most significant areas of our lives. Join us this weekend as our elders lead us this weekend...

The weary world rejoices! We’ve been living that statement all month. Scripture teaches us that a great light has appeared in the darkness (Isaiah 9:2) and Jesus said anyone who follows Him will never walk in darkness (John 8:12). In a world full of uncertainty, pain, and suffering, we declare hope; where there is darkness, we share light; where there is fear, we infuse courage; where there is des...

We live in a weary world. One filled with division and fear. More than ever before, we need a message of peace, heavenly peace. Yes, peace. The Gospel of Peace came to us through the provision of the babe sleeping in a manger who would one day hang high for you and for me. That kind of peace provides abundant power for daily living. That kind of peace ushers in calm in crisis. That kind of peace y...

Hope! We all hope for something. Lack of hope is death to the human soul. But what happens when the thing you are hoping for is taking a very long time or worse, never happens? What do you do with the weary burden of hopelessness? Where can we find fresh and abiding hope? We are looking at the Christmas story these days from the lens of a weary world. A world that Jesus came into and called all th...

It’s considered the most wonderful time of the year, but Christmas this year is coming at a time of loss, pain, sadness and weariness for many of us. It can be difficult to find hope, joy, peace, and love in a season that is supposed to bring these things into our lives and homes. Even though this stretch has been hard, we can find strength, comfort and yes, even rejoicing in Jesus’ birth. Join us...

In Philippians 4:11-13, we see Paul conclude this timeless book by revealing the “secret” of being content despite his circumstances. What does this mean for us as followers of Christ today? Is it even possible to find contentment during life’s difficult circumstances? Let’s unpack these verses together as we discover what it means to have a faith that defines our circumstances, and not the other...

Have you ever been talking to someone and then, in a light bulb style ah-ha moment, they reach into their coat pocket, pull out some breath mints and offer you one? Nice gesture, right? But don’t you get the impression that maybe they’re trying to tell you something? Maybe you’re overthinking it… or maybe this is, as you suspect, their way of telling you that you have fallen victim of halitosis. T...

The gospel, as Paul says in Romans 1, is the power of God for salvation to all who have faith. God's power defeats sin and death and raises us up into new life in Christ - Good News then and now. Romans, in the words of one scholar, is "the epistle of life." In it, Paul unfolds the Good News of the God who "gives life to the dead" (Rom 4:17) in order that we might live in "newness of life" (6:4) n...

I don’t know about you, but I’m feeling weary. The pandemic has taken a major toll on all of us. Our health constantly being under assault by this new and evolving virus. Significant disruptions to our everyday routines and feeling of normalcy. Loss of loved ones. Loss of jobs or unpredictable income. Strain at home with spouses and kids. Aging parents in facilities that have been locked down. Fee...