Rise City Church Sermon Podcast

Do you feel tired of the pull from your old way of living? Do you find yourself running back to sin and the slavery you lived in instead of living in the freedom of a new life in Christ? This week, in Galatians 4, Paul explains how through the Gospel we are no longer enslaved by our old life, but we are set free and adopted into sonship. Join us as we see how we've been set free from slavery to bo...

Why do some teams thrive, and other teams don't? How do you create a healthy team culture? What are the attributes of a quality leader? Listen to this special Team Night message to explore the biblical principles that apply to your work, home, and ministry that lead toward thriving adaptable teams, and how to avoid habits and culture that lead down the wrong path.

What would change in your life if you were fully secure in Christ? Too often, we try to gain our identity in the wrong things: our success, our possessions, or what others think of us. This week, as we explored Galatians 3, we looked at how Paul intentionally built the foundation of the church upon the Gospel of Jesus: rooting our corporate identity as people of His Grace, not our works. When our...

As Paul continues to center the Galatians around the Gospel, he draws a stark contrast between being declared righteous because of Jesus and trying to become righteous by following the law. It’s the doctrine of justification vs the danger of self-righteousness. And if we’re not careful, we can confuse the two in our own lives as well. You are not justified through your right thinking, behavior, or...

We all have things in our past that we regret, that hurt others, and that ruined relationships. But what if God used all the brokenness of our past to write a story filled with grace and redemption? This is the story of the Apostle Paul. Paul was known for his hate and persecution of Christians, but then he encountered Jesus and was radically transformed. The hurt and pain he caused were flipped a...

Do you find yourself confused by reading the words of Jesus and his amazing grace and love, and then look at church and see something that doesn’t speak to the nature of the Gospel? Does the church sometimes look more like the world than Jesus? The church in Galatia was divided over church traditions, interpretations, and tribalism. If we’re not careful we can find ourselves prey to the same distr...

What kind of expectations do you have for the new year? Does it spark excitement or anxiety? Do you linger on the worries of your future and that of our world? 2023 could be anything. Regardless of the chaos, conflict, and confusion around you can choose to dwell daily in the peace of Jesus. Join us as we look at Luke 2 at the expectations of the world Jesus entered into, and how to find peace in...

Why is it that over 2000 years ago a baby came to earth as the Messiah of the world, but the people who were most anticipating him missed his arrival? How is it that all the prophecies and foretelling of his coming would be fulfilled, but the people would reject the signs of his coming? Are we still missing seeing the Savior in our lives as we also live a world marked by the curse, consumed in our...

To many people, God is a far-off being, a distant creator, a divine holy presence. But God, even in his immense holiness, desires a close relationship with you. How can a relationship with such an enormity be grasped? Drawing near to the Creator of the world requires us to look at the love and sacrifice of Jesus. Without Him, we live in separation from God, but through His sacrifice we are welcome...

The curse has left our world broken and, as a result, the loss of things we love is always around us. Maybe it was the death of a family member, or you are dealing with a broken relationship. It could be the loss of a community or changing family dynamics.  In any case, we grieve the life we once had before everything changed. This week Pastor Jason shows us that Jesus comes near to enter our pain...

Do you desire a life of fullness, joy, and abundance, but instead find yourself drifting to a life of sin? Why is it that, in our mind, we desire to do the right things, but we end up falling into the same sins over and over? In Romans, Paul lays out a life lived in the tension between doing what is right and being pulled toward what is wrong. Scott Bean talks to us about how God has given us laws...

We are all living under the curse and every aspect of our lives is feeling the effect of man’s fall from the Garden of Eden — relationships, work, family, creation itself, and even our direct relationship with God. If everything is infected and polluted with pain and hardship, has the enemy won? Listen in as Pastor Jason teaches through Galatians 3 to show us how this knowledge of the curse actual...

Last Sunday, we learned about community killers that we need to watch out for. But aside from just knowing what to watch out for, how do we actually combat those relationship plagues that he laid out? Thankfully, God’s Word always gives us the answer. Listen in to this week’s sermon where Pastor Jason walks us through what Paul wrote to a fracturing church in Colossians 3:11-16, as we are called t...

Have you ever been in a relationship or community that just felt off, or maybe even ended up completely broken, but you couldn’t put your finger on what went wrong? This week, Zach talked to us about the community killers that Peter laid out in 1 Peter 2. Malice, deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander.  But… those are such bad-sounding words and we are pretty good people, so that couldn’t be applica...

Friendship and community are one of the greatest longings of the human heart. We dismiss it saying we are introverts, loners, or enjoy solitude. We build up walls because of shame and pain in our past. We are afraid of deep relationships, and pride holds us back from engaging with others. And let's be real, deep relationships are hard and have conflict. So how do we actually build a life-changing...

You are being formed. Whether you know it or not your community and the culture around you are forming you and setting a path for your life. Often we settle for insight and knowledge, but God is calling you to be radically transformed deep within your soul through steps of obedience. This week, Pastor Russell walks us through a theology of community formation and the path of revival in our culture...

How do you find people that actually get you? How do you create friendships that last the test of time, and can stand against challenging moments? Jesus lived a life filled with friendships of all kinds — from closeness with just a few, to a group that he poured into and that cared for each other. He gives us the example of a life full of relationships but finding those can be hard. Listen in this...

We are in a friendship recession. Between the pandemic and the false reality of closeness we pursue through social media, we're left with emptiness and loneliness — something God never intended. What if you could replace those feelings and fill the community-shaped hole in your soul with genuine friendships? What if you could truly find your people? This week, Pastor Jason leads us through Genesis...

We treat the Devil more like a cartoon character than a threat to us. We have a distorted understanding of who he is, how he works, and how we give him a handhold in our lives. But the Scripture teaches us he is a real enemy on the prowl planting deceptive ideas, that play to our disordered desires—always telling us that God is holding out on us. In  John 8 , Jesus breaks down the lies of the enem...

Do you know that feeling of wanting what isn't good? Do you feel the pull and temptation of desiring things around you? Do you find yourself battling your mind and heart over your actions and behavior? We are at war with our own flesh — the corrupt inner nature that serves to please ourselves rather than God. We can't escape those desires, but we can address them by arming ourselves with the Word,...

Have you ever watched the news and felt overwhelmed by the sadness? How do we simultaneously see an ever-increasing advance in technology and science yet darker things keep happening? The Bible teaches that human beings live in the midst of what it calls “Babylon” or “the World”. This is a categorical “enemy” that wars daily against our souls. So here’s the question: Where can we find hope? Can we...

Do you ask yourself, "Where can I play a part in the local church? Is there really a need for me? How do I grow in my discipleship and become a contributor to the church?" Listen in to this special Team Night edition where we share one big announcement and Nolan Tjaden shares seven lessons he's learned in serving at Rise for the last seven years, and how ministry can be boiled down to one simple s...

We are at war. But who are we up against? It's not a war against people or culture—it's a war against the three enemies of the soul. This is a battle that is around us, within us, and constantly tempting us to draw our focus from the life Christ died for us to have.   In Ephesians 2, we learn that in order to walk faithfully after the Lord we need to embrace the power of grace, and understand the...

One of the main reasons people reject Christianity is because they say “Christians aren’t different”. In this teaching, our argument is that Christianity is the thing that changes you. Through the Gospel, God grabs your heart with irresistible grace and sets even the farthest of sinners on the trajectory of becoming like Christ! What about you? Are you different? Join us as we walk through Romans...

Does your life feel like a cycle of pressure and difficulty? We are all either working through a problem, going through hardship or suffering, or walking through a season of pain. And if you're not, then you're about to. But why is that? Why is that we find ourselves in a place of pain and feeling limitations? Justin Anderson opens the Scripture this week to the book of Jonah to look at a man, a p...