Journey Church Amarillo

Holiness means being set apart, completely unique, and unlike anything else. God is holy in a way that has no comparison, and His holiness is inseparable from His glory. The early church in Acts understood this deeply, and it produced a community marked by genuine generosity, unity, and love. Barnabas exemplified this by giving sacrificially with pure motives, while Ananias and Sapphira revealed w...

Living on mission is a call extended to every follower of Jesus, not just pastors or missionaries. Acts 3 and 4 show us what that looks like in practice, beginning with simply choosing to see the people around us. Peter and John stopped for a man others had walked past for years, and that moment of attention led to a life-changing miracle. Compassion must move beyond feeling into action, and that...

Nearly 2,000 years ago, the early church devoted themselves to four core commitments: the apostles' teaching, fellowship, the breaking of bread, and prayer. These were not casual habits but deliberate choices that shaped everything about how they lived together. The Greek word for fellowship, koinonia, meant far more than socializing. It meant deep partnership, shared sacrifice, and standing toget...

Pentecost was not just a historical event. It was the moment God poured out His Holy Spirit on ordinary people, forever changing what it means to follow Him. The transformation of Peter is one of the most powerful examples in all of Scripture. A man who once hid in fear and denied Jesus three times stood before thousands and boldly proclaimed the truth. That change did not come from willpower or s...

Waiting on God is one of the hardest things a believer is asked to do, but Acts chapter 1 shows us it is not meant to be passive. Before ascending into heaven, Jesus commanded His disciples to wait in Jerusalem for the promise of the Holy Spirit. Rather than giving them a detailed plan, He gave them a mission and a call to trust. The disciples responded by gathering together in persistent, united...

Many of us walk through life wearing a mask, projecting an image that does not match what is actually happening inside. King David did the same thing for nine months after his sin with Bathsheba, and Psalm 32 reveals the physical and emotional toll that hiding took on him. Wearing a mask keeps our minds in a constant state of anxiety because our brains interpret hiding as danger. God desires integ...

Overthinking is one of the most common struggles people face, and Scripture speaks directly to it. At its core, overthinking is focusing on 'what if' instead of 'what is,' keeping us stuck in mental loops that never move us forward. First Peter 5:6-10 offers a clear framework: humble yourself before God, cast your cares on Jesus, stay alert to the enemy's schemes, actively resist anxious spirals,...

Anxiety is one of the most common struggles people face today, and it often hides behind smiling faces and busy lives. Philippians 4:4-7 offers a clear and practical path toward peace, built on three simple but powerful invitations: trust God, tell God, and thank God. God does not always remove the storms we face, but He promises to bring peace in the middle of them. Rejoicing in the Lord means an...

Seasons change, but what does that mean, and what do we do with that?

The voices we allow into our lives have a profound impact on our anxiety, our identity, and our peace. People closest to us generally fall into three categories: divisive people who stir up conflict and raise our anxiety, sharpening people who challenge us to grow, and safe people who bring us rest and peace. Being intentional about who gets access to our inner world is one of the most practical s...

Anxiety is an automatic emotional response to real or imagined threats, and it is not a sign of weak faith or a character flaw. Philippians 4:6-9 offers a clear framework for becoming less anxious: God has a role, and so do you. Your inner life is like a dwelling place, and you have the ability to shape what lives there. While you cannot always control every thought that enters your mind, you are...

Do you know why you do what you do? Today that’s the question. What is motivating you? What is driving you? When you figure that out, when you really press into that question, everything changes.

Many Christians assume that if something is truly God's will, it should feel easy. But Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane tells a very different story. He was perfectly obedient, completely innocent, and still experienced anguish so intense that His sweat became like drops of blood. Difficulty does not mean you have missed God. It may mean you are right in the middle of His will. True surrender, mo...

Train for Godliness Ancient Greeks trained in the gym completely naked—no hiding anything. When Paul told Timothy to "train in godliness" (1 Tim 4:7-8), the message was clear: spiritual growth requires absolute vulnerability. God already sees every part of us (Hebrews 4:13). Stop trying to hide your mess and let Him actually train you.

Waiting is unavoidable, but how we wait matters far more than the fact that we wait. Mark 13 gives a powerful framework for understanding the signs of the end times without falling into fear or obsession. Jesus predicted the destruction of Jerusalem, which was fulfilled in AD 70, and also pointed to a final cosmic fulfillment still to come. He made clear that no one knows the day or the hour excep...

Hannah's story in 1 Samuel is a powerful picture of what it looks like to bring your deepest pain before God with honesty and persistence. Despite years of heartbreak, social shame, and unanswered longing, Hannah refused to stop praying. She poured her soul out before God, made a covenant with Him, and trusted Him with the very thing she was asking for. God heard her, remembered her, and answered...

Spiritual Warfare How do we know if what we are going through is Spiritual Warfare or just the fruit of our choices? Fruit is a big clue.

Pastor Howie finishing his sermon series on "When God Seems"  Today it is when he seems late

Pastor Howie dives in to his series on when God seems.

If fasting clears the noise and simplicity anchors the heart, prayer is the ongoing conversation that keeps us connected to the Vine. In the final part of our series, we are diving deep into the heartbeat of spiritual life: Prayer. We often think of prayer as a slot on our calendar, but it’s meant to be the atmosphere we breathe. In this episode, we talk about two powerful dimensions of communicat...

When God seems inattentive 

We live in a world that constantly tells us to consume more, do more, and be more. But what if the secret to a deeper spiritual life isn't adding anything at all? It’s clearing the clutter. In our latest episode, we dive into the beautiful, counter-cultural disciplines of Fasting and Simplicity: Fasting isn't just about giving something up; it’s the intentional removal of distractions so we can se...

What actually has dominion over your heart? Mark 12 presents a series of encounters and parables that cut straight to the core of that question. Like the tenants in Jesus' parable, we often want all the blessings of God without giving anything back to Him. We divide our hearts among our jobs, our status, our image, and our finances, leaving God a small corner we pull out when life gets hard. Jesus...

Ever notice how naturally we hype up the things we love? A good meal, a great movie, a sports team... we are literally hardwired to praise. We were made to worship. But when we substitute God for things that were never meant to carry the weight of our devotion, we end up empty. In this week's episode, we break down worship as a daily, life-giving spiritual discipline that centers our souls. #Spiri...

When Isaiah encountered God's glory in the temple, his immediate response was 'Here I am. Send me.' This powerful moment reveals that truly seeing God compels us to serve others. As believers in the priesthood of all believers, every Christian is called to ministry and empowered by the Holy Spirit for service. Service isn't optional volunteering - it's the natural lifestyle of a believer. We can s...