Public Church

Paul begins Ephesians 2 with a jarring yet simultaneously enlightening statement that is echoed by the music of our culture. Then he provides an explanation and a solution. If we lean in and grasp what he is saying about us, we can walk away overwhelmed by Jesus.

So many people struggle with loneliness, and knowing someone is praying for us can be a huge help in the struggle. When Paul prays for the Ephesians, he prays for them to know that God is for them and see Jesus as the source of our hope. His prayer applies to us and models for us a way to pray for others.

A letter has the power to change our lives by its message, and that’s exactly what Paul intends to happen with a letter he wrote that we call Ephesians. If we open and read it, we can find clarity to two questions that several of us are asking and most of us are interested in: who is God? Who are we to him?

On this special podcast, Nathan Eaton hosts Todd and Whitney Stevison as they dive into some aspects of Front Door Conversations that didn’t make it into the series. A big question, “What I if cannot have the Front Door Conversation?” is discussed, as is the difference between peacemakers and peacekeepers.

We end our series with this question: what if we do all the right things and it doesn’t work? At some point, all of us will face unresolved conflict, even though we have done our part. How do we move forward? In Romans 12:18-21, Paul writes to a group of people who will face conflict on a scale that most of us won’t, and his words to them provide a road map for us as well.

To dive deeper into Front Door Conversations, Todd Stevison hosts a discussion with Cindy Boler on Conflict Resolution. She offers practical, simple, yet game-changing insights that we need to navigate conflict well.

Today, we have the privilege of diving into the details of Front Door Conversations through a discussion with Brad Stanley and Collin Cooke. Brad serves with YWAM (Youth With a Mission) and leads many of their urban efforts from his experience serving immigrants in Chicago and working in other cities across the globe. Collin serves as our phenomenal Families Pastor, and we can’t wait for you to be...

When it comes to the conversations that we know we need to have, we can either deal with it or it will deal with us. When “it” deals with us, “it” comes packaged with regret. There is a way to eliminate regret through Front Door Conversations, and the key is the stories we tell. Since regret hangs in the balance, let’s lean Romans 12:16-18 to see what kind of stories we need to tell.

Many of us struggle to have tough conversations, and one of the reasons is we only see two potential outcomes. Either we address the issue and lose the relationship, or we avoid the issue and keep the relationship. Thankfully, research shows and Jesus teaches that there is a third way, an outcome where we tackle the problem and build the relationship. In our new series, we are calling the path to...

In 1 Peter 4:7-11, we are challenged to broaden our perspectives. In view of eternity, what matters? Peter calls us to love earnestly and to serve selflessly.

In our series finale, Jesus uses the Beyond Project to force us to discuss money. We often try to avoid this conversation, and it can feel awkward. If we read what Jesus says about money, then we realize His intent. Jesus isn't after our money; He is pursuing our heart. In Matthew 6:19-21, He shows us the connection between them and challenges us to give Him more of our hearts.

In Luke 16:1-13, Jesus tells a strange story that helps us see some common mistakes that we make with money. His challenge is unexpected but a game changer if we will do what he says.

This question leads to other questions that many of us are asking with the Beyond Project. To find our answer, we explore Nehemiah’s answer to “Why rebuild the wall?” In the process, we clarify our compelling vision and are challenged to rise and build.

Public Church’s phrase for 2019 is Immeasurably More, and the Beyond Project marks our next step into Jesus’ immeasurably more. To take this first step, we dig into Peter’s time walking on the water to learn how we can navigate this season.

How do we respond when adversity hits? What if Jesus could have prevented the tragedy but chose not to? We drop into a few scenes in Jesus’ life and then explore the darkest moment in history to find reasons to trust him. One word resonates amidst any circumstances we face: rise.

As we end our series, we focus on Jesus’ words that inspired our series. Jesus gives a new command based on his unprecedented type of love. Through his words, we find a way to prove that we are with Jesus.

Sometimes misunderstood Scripture leads us to disappointment. We may be disappointed with Jesus when we try to do all of the right things but our reality is much different than we had hoped for. We often dismiss the need to trust that God is working His best even when we don’t see it. What are the steps we can take to begin to trust in Jesus’ love?

When it comes to generosity, there is a difference between admiration and application. We often hear stories of generosity that inspire us, but we walk away and do nothing. What is the disconnect between our desire to be generous and actually doing it? Through a scene in Jesus’ life, he reframes generosity to reveal our root issue. If we deal with the root issue, we will find that generosity is a...

This series is dedicated to everyone who doesn’t follow Jesus or those who don’t really know where they stand with Jesus. Sadly, Jesus followers often make it too difficult for them to follow Jesus by our failure to love like Jesus. In Matthew 5:43-48, Jesus teaches us about unaffected love, and he demonstrates it towards the author, Matthew, and us. If we don’t follow Jesus, will we stop trying t...

Some of us love change; others hate change. However, all of us like change that we view as beneficial, and change is inevitable for Jesus followers. Part of following Jesus is changing to become more like him, and Galatians 5:22-23 is a litmus test that indicates whether we are becoming more or less like Jesus. Will we apply the litmus test to measure our change?

Research shows that anxiety and worry are on the rise in our culture, but we don’t have to live as captives to anxiety. Jesus gives Philippians 4:4-9 to us an anchor in the storm. Will we lean in to the solution he offers?

In Matthew 11, Jesus calls everyone who labor and are heavy laden to follow Him and He will give them rest. Join us this week as we are challenged to trust Him with with what we don’t control.

In our series finale, we discuss wonder, an emotion marked by admiration or awe, and we see how important it is. If we lose the wonder, we vacate the road to immeasurably more. Therefore, we look at a scene from Jesus’ life where some walked away and others decided to stay. Those who continued to follow him never lost their wonder, so we pray that we do the same well beyond this series.

There is a danger to immeasurably more—that we go big and never come back to dig into the details. God’s pattern, throughout the Bible, shows that the road to Immeasurably More is paved by details. Are we willing to do some roadwork?

We get distracted so easily, and we often dismiss our lack of focus as harmless. In reality, our tendency to get distracted is one of the reasons we are the problem with immeasurably more, and distractions are dangerous. They can lead us to mediocre, uninspiring lives or even wreck our lives. Nehemiah was a leader who displayed intense focus, and in Nehemiah 6, he shows us how to avoid the trap of...