Roots Church Sermon Podcast

We live in a world of competing stories — and competing meanings attached to those stories. The logo at the end of a story shapes everything: what we believe it’s about, who we become because of it, and what we do as a result. So what happens when the story of Jesus gets the wrong…

In With You in the Valleys, we explored the spiritual myth that God is found only in strength, success, and certainty. So much of modern faith culture subtly teaches us to chase the mountaintop—to pray harder, perform better, and present a polished testimony. But what if God is especially present in the valleys? Through story,…

In this message from our Non-Anxious Misfit series, “Salt, Light, and Shalom,” we reflect on Jesus’ words in Matthew 5:13–16: “You are the salt of the earth… You are the light of the world.” Notice—Jesus doesn’t say try to be salt or work hard to become light. He says you are. This sermon invites us…

In the final message of the Revelation: Unveiling Reality teaching series, Pastors T. C. & Osheta combined for a homily that invites dialogue. Drawing upon the vision of chapter 21, of a new heaven and new earth, Pastors T. C. & Osheta point to God’s dream for a world characterized by shalom: a positive peace,…

This sermon explores the theme of judgment in Revelation through the image of a controlled prairie burn—fire that looks destructive but actually restores life. Revelation’s vivid judgments (i.e. the seals, trumpets, and bowls, etc.) unmask the “beastly” systems of domination, violence, and exploitation that harm God’s creation and God’s people. Rather than depicting divine rage,…

In this sermon, we explore how John’s visions of beasts, dragons, and Babylon aren’t predictions of the world’s end, but prophetic unveilings of empire’s true nature—then and now. Revelation exposes the seductive power of political and religious systems that disguise domination as righteousness and violence as peace. Drawing insight from voices like Michael J. Gorman,…

In this message, Pastor Osheta shares personally and vulnerably about her own grief and skillfully weaves together the thrown room scene from Revelation chapter 5 with a positive vision for living with ambiguous grief and loss. It’s a message of encouragement and hope amidst dark times.

In a world shaken by headlines of political violence, our fall teaching series turns to the book of Revelation—not as a codebook for predicting the end of the world, but as a vision of Jesus Christ, the Faithful Witness. Revelation was written to embattled churches under Roman rule, calling them to see beyond fear and…

In this message, Pastor T. C. explores the way Jesus enters Jerusalem on the first “Palm Sunday.” Rather than being a “triumphal entry,” as it is sometimes known, it was instead a carefully-planned protest, a parody of imperial power, and an embodiment of peace.

In this powerful and deeply personal sermon, we explore the true meaning of discipleship through the lens of one man’s journey from gang life to following Jesus. Using Mark’s Gospel and insights from Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s The Cost of Discipleship, this message challenges us to leave behind false securities, embrace intimacy with Christ, and take up…

Interview with Bonhoeffer Scholar, Dr. Reggie Williams This video interview is the kick-off of our new teaching series on Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s classic, The Cost of Discipleship. Dr. Reggie Williams is Associate Professor of Theological Studies at Saint Louis University, with research interests in: Black Theology, African American Studies, Black Arts, The Harlem Renaissance, Dietrich Bonhoeffer…

In this sermon, Pastor T. C. Moore teaches on Matthew chapter 7 in the penultimate message in the “Center of Gravity” series. He organizes the chapter into four parts: vv.1–6 “See Clearly”; vv.7–14 “Trust Deeply”; vv.15–23: “Discern Wisely”; vv.24–29 “Build Courageously.”

In this sermon, Pastor T. C. Moore explores the contrasting motivations of fear-based obedience and love-based obedience, using the Sermon on the Mount as a lens to understand Jesus’s teachings. The message begins with a reflection on old Fundamentalist political cartoons, which often used fear to enforce rigid moral behaviors. This serves as an entry…

This week’s Advent message wrestles with the theme of peace—not as an escape from reality but as a profound and embodied hope amid life’s struggles. The sermon critiques “spiritual bypassing,” a harmful practice where spiritual truths are used to suppress or dismiss valid emotions like grief, anger, or fear. This bypassing denies the real pain…

This week’s sermon continued our exploration of Jesus’s Sermon on the Mount, focusing on the metaphor of being the “light of the world” and a “city on a hill” (Matthew 5:14). Pastor highlighted the historical appropriation of this metaphor by figures like John Winthrop and U.S. presidents, including Reagan and JFK, to frame America as…

In this message, Pastor T. C. introduces the teaching series, ICON: Portals into the Heart of Jesus by exploring how contemplation of Jesus through contemplative practices like Visio Divina restore the image of God in us. As II Corinthians 3:17–18 says, Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is,…

In this message, Pastor T. C. homes in on the theme of humility in the Magnificat using Mary as an example and draws upon insights from Dr. Dennis Edwards’ new book Humility Illuminated.

Pastor Osheta kicks off the “Making Room in Advent” series with a message entitled “Making Room for Silence.”

The third Path Point of PAX’s Scripture StoryArc is Material: “Jesus is the key to understanding Scripture.” In this message, Pastor T. C. contrasts a Jesus-centered approach to Scripture to a “Flat Bible” approach. As disciples of Jesus, we should learn how to read Scripture the way Jesus did, through: 1. The Jesus Lens; 2.…

What we think the Bible says leads us to develop deeply-held beliefs and those deeply-held beliefs are often the basis for relationships, families, vocation, and politics. So, it’s important that what we think the Bible says, is actually true. The second Path Point in PAX’s Scripture StoryArc: Myth. The Myth statement is: “The Bible says…