Rise City Church Sermon Podcast

Most of us want deep change, but we want it fast. We long for peace without patience, love without pruning, and freedom without formation. Yet Jesus tells us the truth: lasting transformation only happens through abiding. Just as branches don’t produce fruit by effort, we cannot become who God intends apart from a life rooted in Christ. We all abide somewhere—and whatever we abide in is forming us...

Most of us assume spiritual growth begins with clarity—having answers, confidence, or conviction. But in John 1, discipleship begins somewhere far more honest: curiosity. Before belief, before commitment, Jesus invites two searching men with simple words—“Come and see.” We all need an encounter with Jesus for ourselves. You can’t follow a Jesus you’ve never met. Discipleship deepens as encounter b...

We are always being formed—by what we give our attention to, who we listen to, and the rhythms that shape our days. Every habit is pointing us somewhere. The question isn’t whether formation is happening, but who is shaping us. Jesus’ invitation, “Come, follow me,” cuts through distracted, half-present faith and calls us into an intentional life of apprenticeship with Him. This week, we’re launchi...

Jesus often shows up where we least expect Him—in overlooked places, through ordinary people, during hidden seasons. In Luke 1, God begins the greatest rescue story not in a palace but in Nazareth, not with prestige but with humility. Mary isn’t chosen because of her résumé but because of grace. Jesus enters the world quietly, but with eternal purpose, showing us that God often does His greatest w...

Most of us don’t realize the weight of what we’re carrying. Like David, we’re often living inside a story bigger than we can see—faithfully holding responsibilities, wounds, and callings without knowing how God might use them. Long before the crown, David learned dependence as a shepherd, repentance as a worshiper, and courage as an overlooked fighter. His life reveals that God’s promise doesn’t m...

Most of us assume spiritual growth happens in mountaintop moments—when God shows up loudly and life finally makes sense. But what if real transformation happens in the long, ordinary stretches in between? Jacob’s story tells the truth we often miss: God doesn’t wait for us to get it together. He works through messy families, immature prayers, unresolved wounds, and years that feel painfully unrema...

We all have places in our lives that feel dry, stuck, or long gone—marriages running on fumes, faith that’s cooled off, habits we can’t break, or a heart that feels more numb than alive. Most of us try harder, push more, or attempt to “fix” ourselves, but Ezekiel shows us something deeper: the problem isn’t that we’re weak—it’s that we’re spiritually dead without God’s Spirit. And dead things don’...

We all know what it’s like to chase something we think will finally make us whole—success, affirmation, control—only to find the ache still there. Hannah lived in that gap: honored by her husband yet carrying a pain no amount of love or status could fix. Her story names what we often feel but rarely say out loud: nothing in this world can satisfy the deepest desires of the heart. In her anguish, s...

We’re living in a moment where compassion is thinning and outrage is thickening, and it’s easy—even for believers—to run from the very people God is calling us to love. Jonah did exactly that. Sent to carry God’s mercy to a violent and hated city, he fled in the opposite direction. But God pursued him through a storm, a sea, and a fish—not to punish him, but to reclaim him. Jonah’s plunge into the...

We’re living in a cultural drought—shrinking belief, collapsing moral imagination, rising false gods—and it feels like the heavens have been shut. Israel knew this same barrenness in the days of Elijah. After years of idolatry, immorality, and spiritual compromise, God withheld the rain to expose the emptiness of their gods and awaken hunger in their souls. Our moment feels eerily similar. Spiritu...

We live in a world that prizes performance, pedigree, and power—yet deep down, most of us still wrestle with feeling unseen or unworthy. The story of Mephibosheth flips all of that upside down. David, now king, seeks out the last living son of his former enemy—not to punish him, but to show him kindness. In a single moment, a crippled exile from “Lo Debar” (“no place”) is carried into the palace,...

When life feels like a battle you can’t win, it’s easy to believe that trying harder will finally bring peace. But what if the breakthrough you need doesn’t come from more control, but from surrender? King Jehoshaphat faced an army he couldn’t defeat, yet instead of drawing a sword, he lifted a song. As Judah began to worship, God began to work. In a world that says, “You got this,” Scripture decl...

Paul ends his letter to the Thessalonians with a rapid-fire list of commands—a vision for what life in the church should look like while we wait for Jesus to return. It’s like he’s saying, “Don’t just sit back and count the days—live like the Kingdom is already here.” In these final verses, Paul paints a picture of a church that loves well, serves faithfully, rejoices often, listens to the Spirit,...

Most people assume spiritual growth just happens over time. But the truth is, everyone is being spiritually formed by something — our families, habits, culture, and desires are shaping who we’re becoming. In Ephesians 4, Paul draws a bold line between the “old self,” shaped by sin and self-reliance, and the “new self,” shaped by the Spirit. You can’t keep wearing your old clothes and expect a new...

We live in a world that lulls us to sleep—spiritually numb, distracted, desensitized. But Paul raises a warning flag in 1 Thessalonians 5: The Day of the Lord is coming like a thief in the night. It will not be announced. It will not be delayed. And most won’t be ready. This day—the final, climactic return of Christ—will be a day of justice, when God deals decisively with sin, rebellion, and evil....

Something in us knows this world isn’t the end. We feel it at funerals, in the chaos of the headlines, and in the quiet moments when we wonder, is there more than this? The early believers in Thessalonica wrestled with the same questions—watching their friends die for their faith, wondering what came next. Paul writes to them—and to us—to say: there is hope beyond the grave. Because Jesus died and...

There’s something stirring in our time. People are restless, searching, and waking up with a hunger they can’t quite name. All around us we see signs of spiritual awakening—new faces walking through church doors, lives asking deeper questions, hearts opening to God. These are seeds of revival being planted. The question is: will we recognize the moment and nurture what God is doing in us, our fami...

We’re all longing for belonging, but true connection comes through love that shows up, faith that endures trials, and growth that never stops. We’re called to live with hopeful vision, ready for Jesus’ return and bold enough to transform our city by the way we love each other. Whether you’re curious about faith or already following Jesus, this message will challenge you to step in and live differe...

Some moments in our lives are watershed moments—where tragedy strikes so deep we know our world will never be the same. This week was one of those moments in our Nation. The public assassination of Charlie Kirk is now etched into our national memory. Not a head of state, not a military leader—but a voice for truth, faith, and conviction, cut down not for political position because of Biblical conv...

What keeps you standing when life pushes hard against you? For the Thessalonian church, following Jesus meant being misunderstood, rejected, and even persecuted. Paul’s encouragement was simple but profound: you are chosen by God, and that changes everything. To the fearful, God says you are loved. To the scattered, He says you belong. To the weary, He promises your future is glory. Your faith isn...

When life feels stacked against you, where do you turn? The Thessalonian church was small, new, and surrounded by opposition. Paul couldn’t stay to guide them, but he wrote back reminding them that God had already given them the weapons they needed to stand strong in a world against them: prayer, the Word, and the power of the Spirit. These aren’t flashy or obvious tools, but they connect us to a...

Ephesians 5 shows us that marriage is not just about husband and wife, but meant to be a picture of something bigger: how Christ loves His Bride, the Church. His love is agape - sacrificial, faithful, and steady. It calls us to lay down pride, to forgive, to serve, and to live in a way that points back to Him. This matters because we live in a world where it’s easy to walk away when things get har...

We live in a world filled with broken walls—families fractured, cities divided, hope worn thin. Too often we look at the rubble and assume it’s someone else’s job to rebuild. But in God’s Kingdom, a holy burden always comes before breakthrough. Nehemiah’s story reminds us that transformation starts when we allow God to move our hearts and then move our hands. Renewal is not for the gifted few; it’...

In 1 Samuel 16:1–13, God bypasses the impressive and chooses David, the overlooked shepherd boy, to be king. It’s a reminder that He sees what people miss—He looks at the heart. In every generation, God is raising up leaders who may not fit our expectations. They might be young, unpolished, and unproven, but they are already chosen, gifted, and anointed for His purposes. The next generation is not...

What if God’s plan to reach your neighborhood, your workplace, your city… is you? In Luke 10, Jesus sends out ordinary people with an extraordinary mission—to go ahead of Him and prepare the way. No titles. No platforms. Just faith, authority, and obedience. This is a wake-up call: you and I aren’t on the sidelines of God’s story—we are the strategy. There is no Plan B. Heaven is still sending, an...