Public Church

In the holiday season, or really any season, we can fall into a “Survive and Advance” or a “Let off the Gas and Coast” mindset. In Philippians 3:12-16, Paul discusses a better approach through a vivid athletic metaphor.

This week we wrap up the Poured Out series by looking at our ultimate example and purpose for generosity: God Himself. Romans 8:31-39 reveals a God who has given sacrificially and generously to us, and we have the privilege of doing the same for others.

Everybody faces the daily grind. Whether you are a stay at home dad or mom, a contractor or work for a contractor, teaching or an electrical linemen, in a cubicle or leading the people in cubicles, it comes relentlessly every week. Jesus brings meaning to our mundane, so Part 4 focuses on how we love like Jesus in the daily grind.

Our two overarching questions for the series both start with one word: how. For part 3, we lean into the “how to” by discussing the secret sauce of a poured out life.

Often there’s a discrepancy between our admiration of generosity and our application of generosity. We admire the actions of others but don’t become more generous. Closing the gap requires practicing a habit and embracing a paradigm. Today, we discuss the paradigm of following a crucified Savior.

Donald Miller, in his book, Building a Story Brand, says that most people have an innate desire to be generous, and generosity is the heart of our Poured Out Series. Our overarching question is, “How do we become who we innately want to be?” We ask that question against this backdrop: a filled up life fuels a poured out life. Therefore, this initial talk explores to be filled up consistently.

None of us want to look back on our current season and face regrets, or be haunted by “What if?” questions. As we discuss the end of Psalm 23, we find a path towards a “No Regrets” lifestyle.

“Follow me.” The invitation of Jesus that is so simple yet so difficult. Simple because we know what to do, but difficult to actually do it. It’s also difficult because following him means letting go and relinquishing control. In Psalm 23, we see that Jesus leads us through the valley of the shadow of death--why would we follow Jesus if that’s where he leads us? Diving into Psalm 23 and asking som...

How’s your soul? If you soul had a gauge, would it typically read closer to empty or full in this season? For many of us, our answers indicate a tired soul as we are “running the town”. Thankfully, maybe even surprisingly, Psalm 23 gives us some direction about how to move the gauge of our soul toward full.

The subtitle of this new series is “The Art of Letting Go,” which relates to all of us who enjoy being in control. Why do we enjoy control so much? Why is it so hard for us to let go? Todd Stevison and Rob Fultz share from Psalm 46 and life experiences to help us wrestle with our control issues.

Our annual Team Night is a moment for those who currently serve or want to begin serving at Public Church to be refreshed and reminded why serving matters. Our Campus Pastor, Nathan Eaton, dives into Romans 12:1-2 and focuses on the idea of serving as a lifestyle instead of an event.

Our search is incomplete without a lifestyle of worship. In this talk we take a closer look at Ephesians 3:21 to gain a better understand of how the habit of worship can and should be exercised both within church gatherings and outside of them as well.

On this Bonus Content episode, Todd Stevison is joined by Michael and Jessica Page as they discuss one of Public Church's global partners, Shepherd's Heart International, and their most recent mission trip to Africa. For more information on Shepherd's Heart, visit shepherdsheartinternational.com

Paul prays a prayer in Ephesians 3:14-21 that is Public Church’s prayer for 2019. The prayer contains our second habit, one that is foundational yet easily overlooked. When we cultivate this habit, people see Jesus in us.

What does it truly mean to disciple someone? Is there a difference between discipleship and mentoring? Jessica Brewster, from Fellowship of Christian Athletes at the University of Tennessee at Knoxville, tackled some of these questions and shared her experience at our Fall Flourish Gathering.

Within us is an innate human longing, which is the desire for more. We long to find meaning in the mundane, so we begin our search for more in a book of searching, Ecclesiastes. In this book, we find the first key habit that we must cultivate to experience the more Jesus has in store.

Our default financial strategy is self-serving, yet deep down our life experience tells us, “If money is all about me, it will ultimately leave me empty.” Jesus makes some observations in Luke 21:1-4 that show us how we can financially move away from all about me and towards bigger than me.

We are inundated with messages of me, and it’s so easy for us to live with an “all about me” mindset. However, there’s a gentle whisper that we can’t shake that says, “If it’s all about me, it will ultimately leave me empty.” We have the opportunity to lean into the nudge as Jesus tells two stories in Luke 15 that guide us into a bigger than me mindset.

Jude writes a letter to the church, calling us to contend earnestly for the faith once for all passed down to us. We have the responsibility to fight for the faith that we will hand down to the next generation.

On this bonus content episode of the Pursuit series, Nathan Eaton hosts Sprouts and Roots Director Kristen Arp to discuss the importance of families discipling their children, the need for others to come alongside families, and her heart for serving the children and families at Public Church.

Our pursuit of Jesus requires others to come alongside us and point us to Him. While it is possible that someone may pursue Jesus on their own, it is unlikely and is a risk that we cannot be willing to take when it comes to the next generation. Psalm 78 is written as a challenge for us to teach the next generation what it looks like to follow God, so that they will in turn teach their children and...

In 1 Corinthians 11:1, Paul makes a statement that can seem very arrogant. He says, “Imitate me as I imitate Christ.” When we dig in, we see that Paul isn’t being arrogant but authentic because people need to see Jesus with skin. We have the opportunity to model what it means to follow Jesus for those who are already following us, whether we realize it or not.

Racism. This week, our letter, Ephesians, brings us to this problem in the Middle East around 60-62 AD that still wreaks havoc in America in 2019. We see what Jesus has done, which reveals that opting out of this issue is not an option for Jesus followers.

On this bonus content episode of the Power of a Letter, Nathan Eaton hosts Community Group Leaders Alex Maxwell and Jade Morgan to discuss how the series along with our YouVersion Bible plan is impacting their Community Groups.

This week we take a break from our series, The Power of a Letter, to ask difficult questions about tragedy. Paul writes about the hope we have beyond death in Jesus in 1 Corinthians 15, and we are challenged to remember that Jesus’ salvation goes beyond the grave.