Risen Church Nc

If Jesus were to address today's church, what would He say? Turns out the book of Revelation is a timeless message for every church of every generation. As the last book of the Bible, it completes the foundation set for the Church, equipping God's people to fulfill their mission. The Revelation serves to remind the Church of its place in God's hand, and compel the Church to remain faithful and endure. The pressure that this world has put on, is putting on, and will always put on Christians is highlighted, but so is the protection and power that we have in Christ. As John addresses various churches, marginalized and cornered by the Roman Empire, his words of encouragement to them remain just as relevant to us. Likewise, we are called to be vigilant and focused on finishing the mission, until Kingdom come.

Acts 18 and 19 features a couple of interstitial episodes that are connected by a common theme. These accounts spark a conversation about the purpose of outward forms of worship and devotion and how they relate to the heart of the matter. In this message, we talk about how outward observations and practices are ways that we express our faith, but are only as valuable as what our heart possesses. This is what God is most interested in and most concerned about - what's on the inside? As faithful believers, we guard ourselves from being caught up in religion, and losing sight of what matters most. We don't boast about what we do or how we do it, but rather we rest in why we do it and Who we experience through it. God forbid, we ever settle for having mere wisdom, but lack true passion. Mere head-knowledge does not reflect true salvation, but a true personal relationship with Christ is rooted in heart-possession.

A conversation between Pastor Justin and Pastor Brandon Heavner about God's one request of us as His servants and as stewards in His Kingdom. The inspiration for this comes from 1 Corinthians 4:2, wherein the Apostle Paul talks about the importance of faithfulness.

Joshua 5 is a time of preparation for battle, but it’s different than what anyone expected… The people learn that a greater, spiritual war is at hand. We often only see the battle on the surface, but the battle behind the scenes is most pressing. This battle cannot be won by means of flesh and blood, but is only won through worship. In the presence of our enemies, we must learn to worship and seek victory from and through the Lord. Rather than responding to the trials and test of this world in a manner after this world, we must take a higher path. Instead of raising this world's weapons, we raise our voices to Heaven, syncing our hearts up with God's will and way. Worship is a weapon in the spiritual warfare that we wage every day. It breaks the power of sin’s pressure and oppression. It confuses the enemy and can confound his forces. We don’t worship to win, but we worship because we because we have already won. Our victory is the Lord. His presence with us and promise over us is our exceedingly great, e

By Acts 18, the Church had breached the firewall that was the Roman Empire. Satan was beginning to launch attacks, to attempt to stop the church from going and growing. The Church had dealt with Jewish opposition but now state-sponsored persecution was on the horizon. Before becoming clearly aware of the situation, Rome began targeting Jews in general, expelling them from the European mainland around 50 AD. As time would pass and more information was gathered, the persecution became more specific towards Christians. This would last from 64 to 313 AD. Paul arrived at Corinth, and met two Jewish Christians on the run, Aquila and Priscilla. They bonded over their faith, and this couple actually joined Paul’s team. Paul goes on in Romans 16:3-4, to commend them as being crucial for helping to build the Gentile Church, saying they “risked their necks” for the cause. Tension arose in Corinth, from Jews who didn’t want to Rome thinking the new movement was their’s, and Greeks who opposed the faith. Paul and his

Before entering the Promised Land, the nation of Israel would face one last test from God. This test was meant to prepare them for and consecrate their hearts so that they may make the most of their life in the land. God brought Joshua and the nation to the Jordan River, which seemed like an impossible barrier between them and where they wanted to be. However, the water would not part like the Red Sea had - this crossing would be different. God commands the nation to begin walking into the rushing, roaring water, and leave the rest to Him. God uses this episode to wire their hearts to Him by faith, and break their sensitivity to and reliance on what they saw and how we felt. Crossing the Jordan River represents a pathway from death to life. What seems like a stumbling block is really a stepping stone. Crossing over the Jordan is a transformative passage, teaching us to rely on the Lord and to find ourselves in Him and His way. What feels like cost, is actually bringing about great gain. Our flesh would

The last half of Acts 17 features the famous account of Paul at Mars Hill, which was an ancient center of idolatry and philosophy. The people of Athens had grown tired of religion. The gods took and demanded all the more, but never gave. Philosophy grew out of this desire to carve a path for people to live peacefully, and hopefully skirt the attention of the gods. However, tradition reminded them that there was no avoiding the gods. Their own consciences felt tethered to idols and idolatry, knowing the only hope beyond this life rested in the gods’ hands. Enter the Apostle Paul, who steps into this place of unrest and yearning. Mars Hill was named after the Roman god of war, but the name was also appropriate seeing the battle the people of Athens were in at heart. They wanted to break free from their bondage to idols and emptiness. Acts 17 is a marvelous portrayal of effective and intentional evangelism. Paul swallows his pride and seeks a connection with the people. His words from 17:24-28 are especially

2000 years ago the world was dominated by tyranny and terror. This was how things had always been, and appeared the only means of obtaining and maintaining power. However, from a small corner of the Roman Empire, a radical movement began that denounced everything this world stood for and every way this world operated by. A Jewish carpenter from Nazereth proclaimed that God was using Him to usher in a Brand New Age, through and by bold new values. Jesus Christ claimed to bring favor from God for all people and that He had come to bring freedom to all people. He said that He came to break the chains of this world, and to turn everything upside down. He preached that Greatness in the Kingdom of God was not based on superiority or success, but on servanthood. He modeled this servanthood by loving everyone and giving everything He had. His death and resurrection punctuated and validated everything He stood for, and kicked off the Christian movement. His Church would go on to love, give and serve the Roman Empi

Moses led the Children of Israel out of Egypt right up to the front door of the Promised Land. God led His people across the Red Sea, to Mt. Sinai, and to Canaan in only 18 months. Upon arriving, conquest and victory were not a matter of "if" but "when" and "how". So Moses sent spies into the land to see how they would take possession of it. Their report was glowing, as it was everything they had prayed for, dreamed of and waited for. However, the majority of the spies lost faith at the sight of the giants in the land. They allowed their potential enemies to overshadow their proven God. The challenge before them became bigger than the Savior above them. Alas, they would spent the next 40 years wandering in the desert in unbelief. They were so close. They *almost* took possession of the Promised Land. Decades later, upon Moses' passing, the next generation was given a second chance. God called Joshua to step up with courage and confidence and lead the people to finally take what was theirs. The contr

What was the Early Church’s secret to turning their world upside down? At the heart of every believer was a desire to make a difference, beyond just making points. They weren’t content to just say the right things, but they were committed to doing the right things, in the right ways. They preached a supernatural message and lived out a spiritual lifestyle, and this was appealing to a world that longed for a genuine connection with God. In this message, we breakdown the supernatural message and the spiritual lifestyle of the Early Church. We also talk about how a particular church plant proves to be an incredible example for us to follow. With a focus on the Berean Church, we talk about how they took full advantage of what God was providing them, and maximized their potential. How can we turn our worlds upside down in 2021? Well, the secret may just be found in the Berean Church.

Our God is holy and perfect and holds Himself and His creation to the highest of standards. Yet in His holiness, He is also loving, willing to clean up a mess that He didn't make through His Redemption Plan. The LORD is a God of Victory and Salvation, working all things out for His Glory and our good. This is on display through His redemptive work with Israel. He called them His own, saved them from bondage, and gifted them with a Promised Land. However, Israel struggled to make their way into that land. Even upon reaching its borders, they were reluctant and pessimistic about their ability to enter in. Herein we get a glimpse of a struggle we all face. Often we stand on the edge of where we want to be and know we should be as children of God, accepting the lie that we'll never make it there. There are so many forces of deception at work in this world, trapping us in bondage. God's message to Joshua and his generation is that through His power, they could find the strength and the courage to overcome

In this series we've looked at a prayer that Jesus prayed the night before He died. We've studied a prayer from the Apostle Paul's letter to the Ephesians. This week, we take a look at the prayer template given to every disciple. What do these 3 prayers have in common? Well, they all carry a desire for unity. Sometimes the Bible's call for unity and words against division may seem a little unrealistic. After all, our world is fallen, and isn't division inevitable? Isn't unity just a lofty dream? Indeed, it seems like something that could only be realized in Heaven... Enter the model prayer given to every Jesus Follower. What does Jesus instruct us to pray? "Your Kingdom come, Your will be done... On Earth AS IT IS IN Heaven." We've prayed this line 100s, even 1000s of times, yet have we ever really meant it? This line agrees with Jesus and Paul, that unity isn't just possible, but it's necessary that every Christian choose it and pursue it. In this message we talk about what "As It Is In Heaven" means f

The narrative in Acts takes us into a brand new frontier, as Paul and his team move into Europe. It was because of their reliance on and sensitivity to the Holy Spirit that they were able to capitalize on this opportunity. Upon arrival to Greece, we see Paul encounter and win multiple people to Christ, all because of his responsiveness to God. Paul's eagerness is the gold standard for every generation's Christian and Church to mimic. He proved both available and malleable, willing and ready for God to take him wherever and do whatever with him so that he might win some to Christ. Paul doesn't waver at following Jesus' commands to prioritize His call and His mission above all else. How could Paul be so committed, even in the face of inconvenience and potential suffering? He was truly convinced that whatever loss would not compare to the surpassing gain in eternity. He believed that even the pressure or pain of suffering would be surpassed by the saving power of God. He began each day with the conviction th

In this section of Acts, we find Paul in one of his most tumultuous seasons of ministry. Paul and his team face several challenges, yet their poise and response through each of them reveals their passionate focus on the Kingdom Cause. In this message, we discuss how Paul was able to avoid setbacks and confusion, and remained in forward motion. We learn how might adopt these same values and apply them in our own ministries.

Division is inevitable, and it seems unavoidable in our world. However, we discovered in part one of this series that Jesus was kept awake all night praying that the Church might overcome division and pursue unity. Without unity, we cannot know God fully and will not make Him fully known. The Apostle Paul echoed Jesus' prayer from John 17, and prayed a similar prayer for the Church in Ephesians 3. He prays that we might be filled with the Fullness of God, the Resurrection Presence and Power of God. In chapter 4, he makes clear that to receive this blessing we must pursue unity. Thankfully Paul gives us a practical pathway that will lead us to a place of unity with each other. He shows us the virtues we must choose and cling to in order to see our families, churches and world become more unified. He bases this pathway on the approach that Jesus took in pursuing us. In this message, we are left without excuse as to why we should choose unity and how we might achieve it. Division may be inevitable and impo

What do you think keeps God up at night? Maybe this seems like a strange question, but just consider - If something could keep Him up at night, that would be a pretty big deal don't you think? We begin a brand new series around this question and looking at the time that Jesus stayed awake all night long, praying about one specific thing. If we are to truly know God and fully make Him know, we must pursue this one thing...

In one of the most overlooked sections of the Gospels, the Disciples repeatedly fumble the ball when given the chance to represent Jesus and lay the groundwork for the Church. Many of these episodes feature their misunderstanding of and contempt for children. They continually miss the point of Jesus' ministry and the desire of His heart. They aren't prepared and aren't willing to do the work to be prepared to minister to the least and smallest in the Kingdom. They actively work against Jesus' intention to reach and bless the least and the smallest. Jesus is none too pleased, and reserves some of His harshest critiques. He calls them "faithless" and "twisted", says they need to be "converted" and "humble themselves", and rebukes their misrepresentation of His heart. Across Matthew 17-19, Jesus makes it very clear: The Kingdom belongs to the least and the smallest. The heartbeat of God is for children. His command over us is that the Church share this passion and compassion for children. Our Churches are on

We've all heard those famous words of Jesus again and again: "You must be born again." One of Israel's finest religious scholars came to Jesus by night, hoping to find insight about encountering God and overcoming sin. He never expected to hear these words. Jesus made it clear, that while our sin didn't prevent us from coming to God, we must experience a new birth to enter God's family. However, Jesus wasn't preaching salvation by obedience. He was proclaiming salvation as a gift. He goes on to say, "The Son of Man must be lifted up...". For God so loved the world, that He gave the world a gift - The Gift of Salvation through the death and resurrection of Jesus. By trusting in Him, we experience a New Birth, and take on a brand new way of life. Our New Life is Eternal Life - Rich and Full of God's presence and power. With this new life comes new desires and passions... new "musts". The New Testament goes on to tell the story of how those that followed Jesus totally embraced this new and better pathway. We

In Acts 15, Paul's evangelistic efforts are being criticized and challenged by a certain sect of the Church. This faction is concerned that the Church is being too lenient on Gentiles who are coming to Christ. Were they simply to be entrusted into God's hands, without forcing them to conform to certain religious traditions? Wasn't that a risky thing to do? Was Jesus and His Grace enough? The Jerusalem Council convened to sort through this controversy. Paul, Peter and James all take the stand to defend the Gospel, and set a precedent for the Church follow. They all unanimously agree that the only thing that will make a difference is God's Grace. They conclude that truth communicated graciously will clean hearts, build faith and change lives. Therefore, the Church must not let anything hinder the grace of God from being communicated and expressed through all that it says and does. What would it look like for the Church to follow James' ruling in Acts 15:19, that we not make it difficult for those who are tur

When someone gives us their word, they are promising something to us. In that same vein, Psalm 119 tells us that God's Word is His Promise to us. From every historical account to commandment, from prophecies to parables, every Word from God conveys His Promise-Making and Promise-Keeping nature. From His Word, we learn that He is a God who intervenes in our lives, shows us His will and plan, and strengthens us. David praises God for His Promises, and gives us incredible incite as to how God is always trying to emphasize His Promises as greater than anything else. David sees his afflictions has being purposed and ordained by God to cause his affection for God's Word to grow. David’s confession in Psalm 119:67 and 71 reflects this conviction. As we are driven from the world to God's Word, we find relief and perspective that we may have never obtained otherwise. Are you allowing God to teach you and tend to you in your afflictions? The devil wants us to give in and give up, but God calls us to look up. Ope