Flatirons Community Church Audio Podcast

What if the reason your faith keeps falling apart is that you’ve built it on a deal God never agreed to? Too many of us walk into faith thinking it’s a contract—“God, if you do this for me, I’ll believe in You.” That makes sense until life hurts. When the money runs out, the diagnosis hits, or the prayers go unanswered, we’re left wondering if God broke the deal. In this message, we look at John 2...

Is your faith fueled by love, or by unresolved anger? If you're exhausted from trying to hold it all together while the world around you burns, you're not alone. Kicking off a new study in the Book of John, Jim Burgen gets brutally honest about the anger simmering under the surface of his own faith—and how Jesus’s love began to wash it away. Before we dive into the words John wrote, we have to loo...

Ever feel like God has left you to figure life out on your own? We often imagine the Christmas story as peaceful, sweet, and wrapped in lights—but the real story was messy, dangerous, and filled with fear. This message flips our Christmas expectations by revealing what Mary and Joseph were really walking through: shame, stress, and silence from the people around them. What if the most sacred story...

What if the real Christmas story wasn’t peaceful at all—but full of fear, shame, and chaos? This week, we tear down the postcard version of Christmas and step into what really happened to Mary and Joseph. They were rejected, misunderstood, constantly on the move, and raising a child the world wasn’t ready for. Maybe that sounds familiar. If you’re walking through a season of anxiety, rejection, or...

What do you do when God tells you something you don’t want to hear? Most of us want a Jesus who fixes our problems, not one who confronts our sin. But what if real peace, purpose, and power are only found when we stop editing the Bible and start trusting it? In this message, we look at Joseph, the man God trusted to raise His Son. Joseph obeyed God's Word even when it cost him his comfort, his rep...

What if the interruption you're fighting is actually God's invitation? Your life didn’t go as planned—now what? In this raw and real Christmas message, we step into the story of Joseph, a man whose world falls apart right before the arrival of Jesus. Through heartbreak, betrayal, and confusion, Joseph teaches us what it looks like to obey God when nothing makes sense. This message isn’t fo...

Think you’re the one holding it all together? What if the pressure you're feeling is coming from forgetting who really is? This message digs into the brutal truth behind why so many of us—especially men—are overwhelmed, burned out, and secretly afraid of dropping the ball. When we forget what God’s done, we start living like everything depends on us. But God knew we’d forget, so He built remin...

What if freedom isn’t a destination, but a road you walk every day? Life rarely plays out the way we imagined. One minute you’re chasing a dream, the next you’re wondering how it all fell apart. This message is for the guy stuck in the middle of the mess, who’s tired of pretending everything’s fine. Whether it's a delay, a detour, or a disappointment, this is your reminder that God still walks...

What if your faith could spark something bigger than you? In this final episode of the Be Free podcast, the Flatirons leadership team opens up about what really happened behind the scenes. From wrinkled tablecloths to holy moments in the balcony, this is a story about grit, obedience, and stepping into something way bigger than ourselves. It’s not about hype. It’s about people choosing faith, even...

What would change if you truly believed your sacrifice could set someone else free?   This is the story of a church that started in a living room and became a movement of messy people chasing real freedom. In this message, Jim Burgen shares a raw and honest vision about what happens when men and women lay their lives on the altar—wallets, fears, futures and all. It’s not about money or buildings....

What happens when a church decides to go to war against evil, no matter the cost? In this no-holds-barred conversation, Pastor Jim Burgen, Amanda Brown, and Jesse DeYoung talk openly about Flatirons Church’s fight against human trafficking. From international partnerships to dark realities here in Denver, they expose the spiritual, emotional, and cultural weight of this battle. Amanda shares how t...

What if your faith was the only thing standing between a child and a life of pain? This message isn’t just a sermon, it’s a call to move. Week 5 of Be Free is about stepping into the real fight happening all around us. Jim Burgen lays it out clearly: our kids, our families, our faith, they’re all being targeted, and the church can’t afford to sit back. Jesus didn’t just save us from something, He...

What if the voice of God is clearer than you think—but you've just stopped listening? This episode of Be Free hits deep. Jim Burgen shares a story straight from Man Camp where 4,000 men gathered under one massive tent—and God showed up. A near-death moment, a wake-up call, and a clear challenge: listen to the Spirit and obey. Plus, hear how Ross went from engineering in Austin to pastoring in Love...

What if your next step of faith isn’t about more belief but more risk? This week, Jim takes us deeper into the tension between our flesh and the Spirit and what it really means to live free. It’s not about trying harder, being better, or obeying a list of rules. It’s about being led by the Spirit and choosing to walk in step with Him even when everything in you screams not to. As Flatirons moves t...

Are we really free, or just too comfortable to notice we’re not? What if the life you think is “free” is actually just comfortable and unchallenged? In this episode of the Be Free podcast, Jesse, Karl, and Paul unpack what real spiritual freedom looks like, and how often we confuse it with ease. Through stories about a runaway gecko, quiet moments of boredom, and the example of Harriet Tubman, the...

Are you free… or just comfortable? This message asks a hard question: what are you doing with your freedom? Jesse brings the story of Harriet Tubman, the Apostle Paul, and modern-day faith into one sharp point—freedom isn’t just for us. It’s meant to be passed on. Through real-life examples, tough truths, and raw honesty, we’re reminded that true freedom in Christ isn’t found in playing it safe. I...

What if you stopped waiting for the right moment—and just got real with God right now? This episode of Be Free is as raw as it gets. Jim Burgen, Jesse DeYoung, and Karen Berge talk about the weight people carry, even church staff, and how retreating into “thin spaces” with God opens up places we didn’t want to go… but needed to. It’s honest talk on leadership, brokenness, parenting adult kids, fal...

Why do we keep going back to the same chains Jesus already broke? This message is a gut check for anyone who’s ever tasted freedom in Christ but still finds themselves living like they’re not. Jim unpacks Galatians 5:1 and challenges us to stop rebuilding the same prison Jesus tore down. Be Free isn’t just a slogan, it’s a mission, a strategy, and a spiritual war cry for anyone who’s done being a...

What if the thing you thought was holding you together is actually keeping you stuck? For two years, the Flatirons team prayed, wrestled, and dreamed about one thing—freedom. Not the feel-good kind. The real kind that changes families, saves lives, and tears chains off people stuck in shame, fear, and hidden brokenness. In this raw, unfiltered first episode of Be Free, Jim Burgen and the team talk...

What if your story of freedom was meant to set someone else free? Week one of Be Free isn’t just a new series; it’s a call to arms. Jim Burgen kicks off a six-week journey that’s really the start of a movement: a church stepping out of comfort, out of safety, and into the front lines of spiritual battle. This message is a fire-starter, reminding us that our freedom in Christ isn't a finish lin...

From Cowards to Courageous Leaders, the story of the early church in Acts shows how ordinary people found courage, boldness, and true freedom in Jesus through the power of the Holy Spirit. This message wraps up the 35-Day Challenge and sets the tone for Be Free, Flatirons' next bold step of faith. Jim gets real about leadership, unity, and what’s coming next for the church. Drawing from Acts,...

Leadership Isn’t Being Perfect. It’s Owning the Mess. In one of the most raw and repentant moments of his ministry, Pastor Jim Burgen confronts his own leadership failure and the silence that followed a week of national tragedy and personal loss. What follows is part confession, part challenge, and part rally cry—not just to Flatirons Church, but to every man wondering how to lead in a world on fi...

What if the risky sacrifice you're avoiding is the very thing that could save your most important relationships? Ben returns to Flatirons with a raw message about drifting in faith, hitting 40, and feeling stuck in a life that looks successful on the outside but is crumbling underneath. Through the story of Zacchaeus, a man hated, wealthy, and desperate, we’re challenged to consider: what’s ke...

Why do we keep falling back into the same broken patterns—even after meeting Jesus? Most of us want Jesus to take away the bad stuff, our addictions, our shame, our past. And sometimes, He does. But what happens next? If we don’t intentionally fill the empty space with something better, something holy, something of the Spirit—then the darkness just moves back in, stronger than before. In Part 2 of...

What are you building your life on—and will it survive the next storm? When life hits hard—and it will—what foundation are you standing on? In this raw and real message, Aaron unpacks why so many of us settle for “fine” lives built on sand, instead of the rock-solid truth of Jesus. He talks about anxiety, identity, the lies we believe, and the ways we try to numb the pain—chasing success, comparis...