The Acts of the Apostles

The automobile tycoon Henry Ford once famously said, “history is more or less bunk.” Why look back when you can look forward? Get busy making history rather than reading stories of those long dead and gone? 
 
Fair enough, except that sometimes the stories of the past are the very thing that inspires us for the future. A man named Luke had a front-row seat during the early days of the Christian church. Like an investigative reporter, he had already captured the story of the life of Jesus into a biography we now have in the New Testament.
 
But Luke had a second book in him, a book about the early Christian church. The church grew, Luke believed, by the will and purpose of God in fulfillment of promises God made years before. His is an encouraging story, of how from a handful of Jesus followers in a single church, this movement spread beyond geographic, ethnic and racial boundaries. The message, that salvation is found in Jesus, raised from the dead and ascended to heaven, changed lives and communities everywhere it went. And the catalyst for all this change, Luke believed, was the power of the Holy Spirit, the gift Jesus left with the church when he ascended into heaven.
 
It’s an inspirational story and raises interesting questions for us today, none more important than this: How can we, at City Church, capture today something of the confidence, enthusiasm, vision, and power these early Christians and their leaders had? It’s a question we will explore in the weeks to come.

1 Song with Devin

The songs we sing form and shape our understanding of God. Tune in to hear a short podcast about 1 favorite worship song each week.

A Faith That Works (When Life Doesn't)

We don’t choose our circumstances, but we do choose how we respond. In the last few weeks our lives have changed in ways few could have imagined. It’s hard to make sense of all that’s happened. We’ve been left anxious and afraid. Disappointed and sad. Isolated and alone. It would be easy to despair.

But faith needs to work in bad times as well as good. That’s why we’re all looking for answers. How can we make sense of what’s happening? Where can we find hope for the future? And is it even possible for good to come from all this bad news?

St. Paul did not live an easy life (2 Cor. 11:24-31). Among other hardships, on more than one occasion he was arrested and put in prison. Experts tell us he spent as long as five and a half years in custody. Paul never called his hardships good, but he also didn’t find them meaningless.

Paul had a vision for life that was robust enough to find meaning even in suffering. On multiple occasions he pointed out how God was often at his creative best in bringing good out of very trying circumstances. But he did more than simply promise, “you’ll get through this.” In fact, he said, “you’ll do more than get through this; you’ll grow through this.” His was a faith that works. A faith that helps us navigate our way through whatever comes our way.

Paul learned from his suffering. His struggles clarified his understanding of and confidence in God. He grew to be a stronger and better person from his hardships. And he found purpose in life that motivated him to work hard at the things God gave him to do. In the end he found a contentment and joy that transcended circumstances.

1 Song with Devin

The songs we sing form and shape our understanding of God. Tune in to hear a short podcast about 1 favorite worship song each week.

Crucial Conversations

What did Jesus actually do? Seriously. How did he spend most of his time during the years he spent here on earth? Giving TED talks? Healing people? Telling stories, like the parables he’s so famous for? The answer? None of the above. You see, Jesus spent most of his time in conversation; conversations with people about life and faith. He spoke with the rich and famous, the poor and overlooked; with women and men, young and old, the educated and illiterate. He even had a conversation with the devil. Some of these conversations are familiar, others, not so much. 
 
During Lent, the six-week period of preparation for Easter, we’ll be looking at nine of these conversations. Our goal is to imagine what it would have been like to listen in as the conversation unfolded. If we put ourselves in the shoes of the person Jesus was talking with, we can allow the full impact of Jesus’ perceptive questions, compassionate words and insightful wisdom to speak powerfully into our current circumstances. So join us from now until Easter Sunday as we learn what we can from these crucial conversations.

Dealing with Yesterday

Some live for the moment, others are all about tomorrow. But many of us live lives defined by yesterday; by something that happened in the past, that has shaped our lives forever. It may have been a moment of triumph, or of deep pain and we’ve been left with literal scars or deep wounds to our souls. And we’re stuck. We can try to push these thoughts from our minds, but if we’re to ever move on to health and wholeness, we must deal with yesterday; the yesterdays of deep regret, unfulfilled dreams, unexpected loss or secret sin. During the month of February, we’ll be looking at our yesterdays and trying to make sense both of what’s happened in the past and how, with God’s help, we can move forward.