Downtown Community Church

Coming face to face with our own sin is highly uncomfortable. Our most natural reaction to facing our own sin is to hide from God. In Nehemiah 8, when the people of Israel heard the law being read over them for the first time, they were deeply sorrowful. They felt this need to mourn and hide because they saw where they did not measure up. Yet, Nehemiah declared this day not to be a day of mourning...

On a winding mountain road, guard rails serve to create margin between where we are and the present danger that lies over the edge. While most of us would agree that such guardrails are important on the roads, we so often  live in relationships, marriages, and in our financial dealings  without any guardrails in place. Worldly wisdom proves to be completely insufficient for speaking into these are...

Everyone who wants to live a Godly life will experience pressure. In fact, every personal failure of ours comes about by succumbing to the pressures of life. We all come to situations that seem like they are lose-lose. Nehemiah 6 gives us an extraordinary example of how to stand under pressure. Nehemiah connects who he is to what he does. His answer to temptation is “Should a man like me do this?”...

The entire purpose of this sermon is to show you the importance of getting connected into groups. The importance of community is a principle that applies to you whether you believe it or not. In Ecclesiastes 4, King Solomon teaches why it is important to be surrounded in community. Two people can work better than one can by themselves. When one person falls, it is good to have another to help them...

If you’ve ever tried to accomplish anything of significance, you are aware of our tendency to be distracted from important work. For almost everything in life, it’s easy to get distracted. If we could ever truly accomplish the most important things before anything else, it would change our lives. Nehemiah stands as an extraordinary example of refusing to be distracted, as he says, “I am doing a gr...

When we hear a call to justice, we are often stirred up in emotion, as we all believe that service to the marginalized and vulnerable is important. Yet, we don’t often have a sustained sense of immediacy towards such passions; we have difficulty having obedience in the same direction over a long period of time. What we find when it comes to having the right actions towards justice is that what we...

God’s people are called to apply pressure to places that are devoid of His justice. We are commissioned to be God’s representatives for justice on Earth. We can often use politics and other guises to hide behind the call we have to administer justice. The injustice we see in the world should bother us. In Nehemiah chapter 5, Nehemiah fights injustice by applying pressure emotionally, mentally and...

Most of us see other people’s needs to gain more resiliency, but can be blind to our own. We have a tendency to quit on tasks in the “messy middle” once we’ve gotten tired from the work we’ve already done, but the end is not yet in sight. In Nehemiah 4, Nehemiah models obedience in the process of building the wall while trusting God with the finished product. When we focus on the product, we gain...

Influence, by definition, creates resistance. We expect resistance in order to grow in the physical realm, but are often surprised or stifled when we face spiritual opposition. In order to be successful in the face of opposition, we must be resilient. According to a 2019 Barna Research study, only 10% of 20-29 year-old confessing Christians in the U.S. are resilient disciples of Christ. The realit...

Nehemiah Chapter 3 is a chapter that is all too often glossed over.  It is mostly a list of names, gates, and sections of the wall that were repaired.  However, it’s hard to overstate the significance that the people of God actually began to do the work that God called them to. We have, for far too long, lacked meaningful engagement in the work of God.  In this sermon, we unearthed the reason why...

We often believe that influence is based on position or opinion. The person with the highest position of authority or with the most extreme opinion are often seen as the most influential. However, we gain true influence through our actions that add value to others. Nehemiah models how to influence others by acting in a way that adds value to others.  Support the show

There’s a dichotomy that every influencer has to face, we must be patient and prayerful, but not passive.  People who excel at patience also tend to be passive.  Conversely, people who aren’t passive also tend to not be patient.  In scripture God often gives a burden or calling in a way that requires patience before action.  Yet, when the patient person is called to action or the action person is...

We are, as Christians, called to be influencers in our culture and our world. But how do we define influence? If society's influence is defined by the impressiveness of who is influencing, how does Jesus define it? With this series, Uncommon Influencers, we will break down the book of Nehemiah to learn what Scripture tells us influence looks like. Support the show

James 2:1-14 Support the show

Luke 16:1-11 Support the show

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Phil 2:1-11 Support the show

In week two of our “Broke” series, we dismantle the “when I get _____, then I’ll _____” assumption, and learn what Jesus taught us about how we should manage what we’re given right NOW. Support the show

In the kickoff to our series called “Broke,” we ask the question, “What is it about money makes us love it so much?” Jesus gives us the answers why, and shows us why we’re meant to search for these things in Him, and not wealth.  Support the show

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Romans 12:1-2 Support the show

Ephesians 4:11-15 Support the show

Acts 5:27-42 Support the show

Luke 24 Support the show

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