Port City Community Church Podcast

Our desire to be better isn't random but by design. The push we feel to change and become is God-given because we are created in His image. But what does that really mean? In today's Midweek Meditation, we sit down with our Director of Community, Laurelyn Shaw, to discuss part two of our teaching series, "Created To Become," narrowing down our "One Word for the year," and how to pay attention to w...

Most of us measure our lives based on what we do; we determine our value by what we accomplish. Instead of making a list of everything we need to get done, we must first consider what kind of person we hope to become. As we think of the person we want to become, no one ever responds by saying they hope to be more bitter, angry, jaded, and cynical. Instead, we instinctively rattle off virtues like...

We are all becoming something . The question is, are we aware of who we are becoming? In today's Midweek Meditation, we sit down with our Wilmington Campus Pastor, Clay Everett, to discuss our new teaching series, "Created To Become," "My One Word," and how to pay attention to our spiritual formation. For more information, check our portcity.church/word.

We all want to be different, but many don't know how to get there. Rather than a vision of becoming, our drive for change primarily finds its fuel in regret. In our quest for transformation, we don't need more quick-fix promises but a lens to see God's work in our lives over time. Vision-fueled action is more powerful than regret-based restraint. Unfortunately, life's normal, natural pace won't le...

To experience fresh starts in our lives, we need to learn how to create finish lines. We need to finish things well and learn from those experiences to see what God has done so we can be prepared for what He wants to do in the future. Over the past year, God moved in and through the people and community of Port City Community Church. Mike Ashcraft, Clay Everett, Laurelyn Shaw, and Perry Green sit...

Jesus told us very clearly that there will be trouble in this world, but He follows these words with a call to hope. He will return one day to right every wrong, wipe away every tear, and usher in His Kingdom in full. We instinctively look for signs of hope amid the troubles of this world. Our hope rests in the reality that one day we will be free from what plagues us here and God's promise of red...

Rest for our souls, the burden of worry lifted, and the presence of the Holy Spirit in our hearts. These are some of the unfathomable and gracious promises Jesus declared over us. Yet,  experiencing the depth of these promises requires us to embrace another - Christ’s abiding love. It serves as the source we draw from over and over again - knowing it never returns empty. But, what does it loo...

Fully embracing God’s promises is easier said than done - life happens and we hesitate, doubt, or forget His faithfulness to us, which is what makes today’s promise of a helper in the Holy Spirit such a gift. The Holy Spirit provides comfort and wisdom by reminding WHO we are and WHOSE we are.

Yesterday, we explored Jesus’ promise of rest for our weary souls and how its found in an abiding relationship with Him. Yet, we often resist slowing down and embracing His rest because worry directs our steps. Jesus speaks into our worry with His next promise that reveals the thoughtful care He provides us.

This week, our time together will focus on the promises of Jesus and how they provide us with enduring hope, unshakable security, and a peace that passes all understanding. We start our exploration of these promises with an invitation from Jesus to rest; which is ironic on a Monday, at the beginning of a work week, smack dab in the middle of the holiday season.

Jesus' return is not an interruption to our wants but is their fulfillment. His return is the final disarming of evil - those little glimpses of God's goodness we see now replaced with the complete picture of His love and redemption. We will experience wholeness and completeness - all that is broken is finally redeemed. The call of Advent is this: Jesus is purifying Himself a people zealous for th...

We devoted our time this week to meditating on the prayers of Jesus and the insight they provide on His character, focus, and nature. Each prayer has been powerful in its own way, but today's prayer uttered by Jesus while enduring the unbearable pain of the cross is where our hope resides - His forgiveness.

Moments before Jesus is betrayed, arrested, and eventually crucified, we see, in John 17, Jesus doing something He rarely did - praying for Himself. He's not teaching the disciples how to pray or praying about the concerns and circumstances of others; Jesus recognizes the impending crisis and chaos coming His way and that leads Him to seek out God's presence and strength. These recorded words give...

This week's time centers on the prayers of Jesus and how they provide insight into Jesus' mindset, nature, and heart. Through it all, we see that the impending cross was in the background of each prayer, standing in the shadows of His life and ministry. Nevertheless, Jesus knew what awaited Him, and in today's passage, we see Jesus' troubled soul meeting a willing spirit.

Jesus understood how simple, yet at the same time incredibly complicated, our connections with others can be. Nevertheless, the oneness of believers was such a priority to Jesus that it served as the topic of His most extended prayer, and it's this prayer we want to meditate on today.

This week, our time together will focus on the prayers of Jesus and how they give us profound insight into the things that occupied His mind and burdened His heart. They reveal what matters most to Him. Prayers put to words the emotions, thoughts, and concerns rumbling deep in our souls.

The chaos we see and experience in the world is the trajectory of sin and brokenness. It speaks to our propensity to divide, blame, and separate to preserve our way. We emphasize borders to keep others out and leave ourselves isolated and insulated to ensure our comfort and security. But we need each other. Redemption resides when we enter in and participate with God together as a family - seeing...

This week, our time has centered on why Jesus entered humanity; through it all, we've seen it was ultimately for His glory and our good. We'll touch upon this today as we consider the life-changing liberation an encounter with His love brings.

For many of us, we define the holiday season as one of the few times that we see the family and friends that we care about. The weeks, months, and sometimes years of separation can make reconnection that much more special. On the other hand, when reconnection doesn’t happen, whether due to distance,  loss, or circumstance,  it can be  heartbreaking. The weight of grief and the sense...

At one point or another, we've all pondered the question, "WHY JESUS?" Why did He come? Why was He needed? Why does He matter? Fortunately for us, Jesus welcomed that question and was more than willing to provide an answer, and it's the answer we want to look at today.

Today's reflection confronts a daily battle taking place behind the scenes; it's a tension we all face - humility versus pride. Those are our options, and one always wins out. We all pursue convenience to some degree and living in today's age, it is easy to experience. Everything we could ever want or desire is at our fingertips. Convenience is the ultimate value in our culture. But Jesus offers a...

Jesus knew His purpose - to do God's will. So if Jesus was all about loving people and caring for their needs, it leads us to reason that God's will is others-oriented and always lies outside ourselves. Those faithful steps of obedience are where Jesus drew His strength. It works the same for us. By giving ourselves away, we refresh our souls.

We have found ways not to be bothered by our need for a "blessed hope" through our false senses of security. They become our solution to our brokenness. Even though they, for a time, provide us comfort and a way forward to a degree, they will eventually become eroded, usually through tragedy or by our encounters with Jesus, when we become thirsty for something other than our way and might. On some...

Consider for a moment the absurdity that for centuries we’ve been celebrating the birth of someone who, at the time, arrived to no fanfare in a small farming village in the Middle East. Somehow, this individual who grew up and became a simple carpenter changed the course of human history. No one has had a more significant impact on shaping this world and culture than Jesus Christ. But, why Jesus?...

I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. Often, we view these words of Jesus only through the lens of salvation and what awaits us in heaven. Yes, it encompasses those aspects, but there is something deeper Jesus wants us to understand. Jesus isn’t talking about a place we will go to someday; He’s speaking about a person who wants to be in a life-givin...