Soul City Church - Chicago, IL

Why do we naturally notice everyone else's faults before our own? In this message, Pastor Kelly Skiles unpacks Jesus' powerful illustration of the plank and the speck in Matthew 7, showing how emotional maturity begins with honest self reflection. Instead of blaming, reacting, or trying to change everyone else, we're invited to take radical responsibility and create space for God to transform us....

What happens when someone pushes your buttons? In this message, Pastor Jeanne Stevens explores how the emotions we run from often become the emotions that run our lives. Through the story of David, Nabal, and Abigail, we discover that emotional maturity isn’t about ignoring our feelings—it’s about creating space for God to meet us in them. The emotions we run from become the emotions that run us....

Have you ever looked at a relationship and wondered, "How did we get here?" In this message, Pastor Jon Jorgenson uses the story of the Prodigal Son to explore the reality of relational drift. Whether it's a friendship, marriage, family relationship, or your relationship with God, drift often happens slowly and almost imperceptibly. But healing doesn't happen by accident. Reconciliation is the shi...

What if one of the greatest upgrades you could make to your life isn't a new habit, a new job, or a better plan, but better friendships? In this message, Pastor Jarrett Stevens unpacks the timeless wisdom of Proverbs 13:20 and shows how the people we surround ourselves with shape our character, choices, and future. Through practical teaching and honest reflection, you'll be challenged to evaluate...

What do you do when the things you thought were dead start coming back to life? In this message, Pastor Jon Jorgenson explores the tension between the old life we keep returning to and the new life Jesus offers. Because following Christ means putting to death the things that pull us away from God and embracing the identity, freedom, and future found in Him. Don’t resurrect what Jesus came to bury....

What if everyone else has a plan for your money… except you? In this message, Pastor Jarrett Stevens explores God’s practical wisdom for money and why financial freedom starts with having a plan. Because when we live with a bigger perspective, we begin to build better priorities. Tomorrow’s potential is proportionate to today’s plans. So here’s the invitation. What would it look like to stop wingi...

What if the pressure you’re feeling was never meant to be carried alone? In this message, Pastor Jeanne Stevens reminds us that worry doesn’t make the burden lighter. It only makes it heavier. But when our perspective shifts toward the faithfulness of God, peace becomes possible even in the middle of pressure. 📍 Soul City Church | Chicago #Faith #Hope #TrustGod #SoulCityChurch

Is what you own really yours? In this message, Pastor Jon challenges the way we think about money, time, and everything we’ve been given. Because what if it’s not about ownership at all, but stewardship? Stewardship is making the most of what God has given. So here’s the invitation. What would it look like to shift from “mine” to “God, how do you want to use this?” 📖 Genesis 1, Matthew 25 📍 Soul...

What’s the difference between believing something and actually living it? In this message, Pastor Jarrett Stevens walks through James 2 and challenges the idea that faith is just something we believe. Because real faith doesn’t just stay in your head. It shows up in how you live. A faith that asks nothing of you changes nothing in you. So here’s the question. What are you actually doing with what...

What happens when everything in life is built around your preferences? In this message, Pastor Jarrett Stevens explores how a culture of customization and consumerism can shape the way we approach church and faith. But God’s vision for the church isn’t something we consume. It’s something we belong to. You don’t just have a place here. You have a part to play. Every person has a part. Every part h...

What if the life you’re chasing is costing you more than you realize? In this message, Pastor Jarrett Stevens explores how a culture built on comfort and convenience can shape a version of faith that asks very little of us and changes even less. But Jesus offers a different way. A way that leads to real life, even if it comes at a cost. A faith that asks little of you changes little in you. So her...

What if the story you’re believing could change everything? Easter is the story of resurrection, new life, and the hope God is still writing today. In this message, Pastor Jarrett walks through the moment Mary stood at the empty tomb expecting the worst, only to discover something better than she could have imagined. When Jesus is who you’re looking for, it changes what you’re looking at. So here’...

What do we miss when we misunderstand Jesus? In this message, we explore how easy it is to shape Jesus around our own desires instead of aligning our lives with His Kingdom. On Palm Sunday, the crowd thought they knew who Jesus was. But they missed what His Kingdom was really about. And we can do the same thing today. Jesus isn’t meant to support our agenda. He’s meant to transform it. 📖 Matthew...

What if diversity was always God’s idea? In this message, Darryl Ford II, guest from Be The Bridge, shows how Scripture reveals God’s design for unity not by erasing our differences but redeeming them. The Church isn’t called to avoid difference. We’re called to be a preview of heaven. 📍 Soul City Church | Chicago

What happens when our IDEAL doesn’t account for what’s REAL? In this message from our Be The Bridge series, Pastor Brandon Henderson invites us to consider the difference between celebrating diversity and doing the real work of bridge building. Looking at Galatians 3:26–29, we see that unity in Christ doesn’t erase our differences or lived experiences. Instead, it calls us into the deeper work of...

Have you ever noticed how easy it is to forget what God has done? In this message, Pastor Jon explores the power of one simple word in Scripture: Remember. Throughout the Bible, God repeatedly calls His people to remember His faithfulness—because when life gets difficult, we tend to forget. When fear rises, when reality feels overwhelming, and when we begin to doubt… remembering what God has alrea...

For the past two years, we’ve declared: We are a Bridge Building Church. But what does that actually mean? In this opening message of our Bridge Building series, Jeanne unpacks why racial reconciliation is not optional for followers of Jesus — it’s central to the gospel itself. Bridge building isn’t a side conversation. It’s not a political issue. It’s not a bonus calling for a few. It’s part of w...

What do you do when you’ve done what you shouldn’t have done? In this message, Pastor Jon walks through 1 John 1 and reveals a simple but powerful truth: when we try to manage our sin, we damage our soul — but when we come clean, God comes close. Confession isn’t about shame. It’s about freedom. If you’ve been carrying guilt, regret, or hiding from God, this message is for you. If you will confess...

Why does God allow suffering? It’s one of the hardest questions of faith. And in Job 38–42, God finally responds. But Job doesn’t get an explanation. He gets an encounter. In Week 3 of A Sufferer’s Guide to God, Pastor Jon explores what we do when there are no answers — and how God meets us not with reasons, but with presence. If you’re walking through grief, loss, confusion, or pain that doesn’t...

When someone you love is hurting, the pressure to say the “right thing” can feel overwhelming. What if the best thing you can offer isn’t words at all? In this message, Jon Jorgenson walks through the story of Job and shows how well-meaning friends said many true things… that still caused deep harm. And how the most powerful help they gave happened before they ever opened their mouths. If you’ve e...

Where were you when the world broke? That moment you got the call. The text. The diagnosis. The news that changed everything. In this teaching, Jon walks through Job 1 and introduces a powerful, often forgotten biblical practice called lament — crying out in grief while still holding on to God. Because the promise of faith was never that we would avoid suffering, but that we would have help walkin...

Prayer is not confined to the moments when we bow our heads or find the right words. What we say in prayer matters, but some of our most powerful prayers are spoken through how we love, forgive, give, serve, and show up in the world. This week, we will learn what it means to embody and live out prayers that go beyond words.

Praying for others is about more than merely saying words. It is participation in the in-breaking Kingdom of God. When we slow down long enough to see the people around us, to notice their need, their pain, or their longing, we step into the same Kingdom reality Jesus announced and demonstrated. This week we explore a Biblical vision of why praying for others' matters and what the broader implicat...

Much of our fear and resistance to prayer is rooted in the stories we tell ourselves about prayer. That it has to be a certain way. That it has to last a certain number of minutes. That it should be answered immediately. And rather than showing up…we give up and miss the gift of prayer. This message shows us not only the value of private/personal prayer…but a simple way to pray simply throughout o...

As a church, we want prayer to be our first response, not our last resort. So as a church, we want to start the new year in prayer together. This Sunday we will leaned into different prayer postures and practices together as a community in order to begin the year by encountering God in new and powerful ways.