Risen Church Nc

Christmas is just a single day, yet it dominates an entire part of every year. Its spirit is felt early and it lingers well passed the 25th of December. No doubt, Christmas is such a beloved and anticipated time of year because of the comforting and joyous atmosphere it brings into our world. This comfort and joy, of course, is a direct result of the promise of Christmas - that none of us are too far from, because God came into our world to save everyone. Christmas is the day that God erred on the side of grace, by stepping into the world that had rebelled against Him, and loving it anyway. Jesus is God's light sent to our dark world. Jesus is God's love fleshed out and poured out for us. Jesus is the fullness of God made fully known, so that we might be fully loved and wholly belong to Him. Christmas is the permanent, eternal record of what God is like and what He thinks about us, because Christmas gave us Jesus - and He's the gift that keeps on giving. He is God and in Him we are loved, chosen, and sa

The backstory of Christmas is full of miracles, from Zechariah's encounter in the Temple, Elizabeth's pregnancy, and Mary's conception. So many miracles, yet none of them actually measure up to the miracles on display in Luke 2 where we see the world change in real time. Luke 2 presents a world overran by darkness - from the empire that ruled to the laws that controlled. It was against that backdrop that God placed the brightest of lights in the night sky. In this message, we talk about the miracle that is God's desire to enter our world and the many ways that He turned things upside down when He stepped into our midst. Needless to say, nothing has been the same since that starry night and we are all forever blessed because of it.

The Bible teaches that our present age is bookended by the first coming and second coming of Christ. It invites us to take hold of our inheritance as believers, and see our lives transformed now and our hearts set on eternity. The season of Advent is all about discovering these gifts and unwrapping them. Christmas promises that God is with us and brings these gifts to our hearts. Perhaps the gift that we fail to take full advantage of and that speaks to our greatest weakness is JOY. Isaiah 61 gives us the Messiah’s long-decided mission statement and at the heart of it is bringing God’s Spirit to us and filling us a lasting joy. On the night of Jesus birth, the angels declared that God was providing a gift that would bring "Great joy to all people". All throughout Jesus' ministry He invited people to come and follow Him and be filled with an endless source of joy. This same invitation has been given to us. However, in our weak and deceived vessels, we often settle for things that may briefly make us happy

As we continue our Advent journey, we come to yet another promise of Christmas: Peace. Perhaps the best way to understand peace, and truly appreciate it, is through a discussion of the absence of peace. This is a reality that we are all too familiar with, on so many different levels. In this message we talk about the reason for the absence of peace in our world - all the tension, animosity and conflict we experience. We trace all of this back to humanity's fall from God and being separated from His presence. Lacking His peace, we descended into a life of conflict and created a world ladened with animosity and tension. Once again, the Good News of Christmas finds us in our distress and offers us an incredible gift. Whereas humanity crafted a world where division was expected, where the flames of conflict were fanned - God went to work to redeem the world, to make peace with those who rebelled against Him, to reconcile us all back to Him. Without our cooperation whatsoever, God went to the most extreme mea

Christmas is such a tradition and its themes are so ingrained into our lives that it's easy to take for granted just how great of an effect it's had on the world. Every December as the world is immersed in a cold darkness, the bright and brilliant lights of Christmas put the miraculous power of God on display. Where there was once disconnect from God, there is now His presence. Where there was once silence from God, there is now His Gospel. Where there was once darkness, there is now light. Where there was once dread, there is now hope. In this special series, we look at how the stage was set for the first Christmas, and how the world fell into such a dire place to begin with. Yet, we hear God promise to send a Messiah into the mess, and observe a small remnant of believers who held on to these promises long after most had given up. In this season, may we all be renewed in our confidence in God and may we all experience a breakthrough of His miracle-working power in our lives. We don't have to come befor

This special message was bookended by lighting the first candle of Advent and celebrating Communion, both which punctuated the Hope that the Christmas season brings us. In this message, we study one of the oldest prophesies concerning the promise of Christmas and seek to understand what it means to anchor our hearts in true, everlasting Hope. Isaiah brings us a sobering word about the things that compete for our hope, but offer us no actual assurance or confidence. In contrast to all that's fleeting in this world, he points us to the arrival of our Savior and bids us to place all of our hope in Him.

If we've placed our faith in God's reign and we've prayed for His will to be done, then the next step to take is obeying Him and bringing His Kingdom to life. Trusting God and praying to God all prepares us to see our lives transformed by God, that we might obey Him. In this conclusion to our ENGAGE series, we talk about how God has filled us with His goodness so that we might unleash goodness on our world. He works within us to will and do His good work, and to make us like stars in the sky. The question we must ask ourselves with each day, as we consider the work that God wants to do in our world through us is this: In light of the goodness God to us and to channel the goodness through us, what is the next, good thing we can do? For such a time as this, we’ve been placed here... Positioned to do His good, to bring His Kingdom to life.

Jesus taught that prayer was a vital part of our relationship with God. He stressed the importance of giving God our complete focus, so that we might be fully engaged with Him. He also clarified some common misconceptions about prayer, like the idea that prayer is simply a means of bending God's will to our liking. He assures us that God already knows what we need and intends on taking good care of us. In this message, we study the template Jesus gave us for prayer and discover powerful truths and hear a transformative invitation from God. Prayer is an amazing opportunity to sync up with God's earthly activities and see as much as Heaven realized in our worlds as possible. Through prayer, we can become aware of God's greater plans and prepare to participate in His Kingdom's expansion.

Paul appeals to the story of ancient Israel and their Exodus experience as a basis for our Christian salvation. He establishes that just as Israel came to be under God's care and firmly secured upon a new foundation, so do we have the same hope in Christ. However, just as Israel immediately drifted away from God, so must we fight the same temptation. 1 Corinthians 10 tells us that this story of Israel is an example for us to learn from so that we don't follow the same path. Paul cites the lustful desires in all of our hearts that cause us to cling to idols, which in turn lead us away from God. These idols are not external however, but internal - feelings and desires in our hearts that cause us to leave the Lord for something less than. In this message we break down these temptations that are common to us all and learn how we must guard our hearts if we are to stay in step with the Lord. There is a way for us to endure and remain under and upon God's grace and guidance, but we cannot underestimate the desi

Our world's unpredictability is at an all time high. Whether we are all facing uncertainty as a nation or if we're facing unknowns individually and within our families - it's easy to be overwhelmed and discouraged. However, for Christians we have no reason to be afraid or dismayed, because despite how things may look, our world rests in the hands of our God. What if we began looking at life and interpreting all of life through that lens? If God is in control, how should we as His own children act and react under His rule? In this series we conclude that in order to stay most engaged with our God, we ought to trust in Him, pray to Him, and obey Him in every situation and season. In this first message, having established that our God is in control and with these aspirations to engage with Him, we discuss what it means to trust totally in Him and live from a place of confidence in His plans. If God is with us, no matter what, we can live with confidence that He is trustworthy and His plans are good. If He's

Paul continues to detail his commitment to winning the lost to Christ, and explains what he believes is the best approach to impacting others. Rebuking those who boasted about their knowledge and rights as believers, Paul stresses his obligation and burden as a follower of Christ. Just as Christ served others and poured Himself out for them, so should we. 1 Corinthians 9 lays out a plan that has stood the test of time and proven successful across every generation. If we will put others above ourselves, and serve them in a Christ-like way, we gain the best opportunity to make a personal, powerful impact on their souls. If we are as dedicated to the Gospel as Paul was, we will adopt this same "be all things to all", "be a servant of all" posture. According to him, if we do this we stand the greatest chance to save some - perhaps even most of those God brings into our lives. The question over us remains, do we love Jesus and others to the point that we would serve them so that more might be saved? This win

1 Corinthians 8 brings us a word on a topic that is more relevant than ever: The rights we possess and can practice as individual people vs the righteousness we possess and should practice as Christians belonging to the Body of Christ. What we may think is a cut-and-dry issue turns out to be much more nuanced as we realize that knowledge and right beliefs don't impress God nor earn His approval. God is actually impressed by and only recognizes us as His own when we move in righteousness, loving one another as Jesus would do. Paul goes as far to tell us that even if we are in the right, if we treat someone the wrong way - no matter how right we are, *WE* are the ones charged with sin before God. In this message, we talk about how our rights and our liberty often clash with what is the righteous and loving thing to do. We break down what's really at stake when interacting with people who are clearly at a vulnerable, weak place in their faith/unbelief. Finally, we hear Paul's radical approach to navigating t

Humanity has a shared experience of being lost. We get lost easily, in every area of life. We are so prone to getting lost or figuratively losing our way, that it's safe to assume that something's not right in our hearts. Pretty much everyone agrees that humans are bent towards imperfection. Within all of us is also a notion that we've missed the mark - that we've fell short of some standard of perfection. The Bible confirms and explains our lost condition. It also tells us why we have such a keen awareness of our shortcomings. We all share a creator, whose image we bear. We also share a common ancestor, whose sin we inherited. This is why "lost" is the perfect word to describe our condition, because we've all wandered away from our Creator God - our Heavenly Father. In this message, we come to an agreement about our lost condition and look at some foundational Bible verses explaining it all. Then we turn to Jesus for some Good News. Even though we are all a long way off, impossibly lost, Jesus promises

1 Corinthians addresses our lives across the board, commanding us to glorify Christ in our relationships and in every area of our lives. Paul's focus in chapter 7 is to fix our eyes on the purpose God has for us and has placed in us, so that we might maximize our lives for His Kingdom. So often we look for purpose on the other side of something happening or changing in our lives. We deflect what we might could now by claiming such and such has to happen to make it more comfortable or convenient to serve God. However, we learn in this text that we need not chase after purpose, but realize it is with us right where we are. Paul's message in 1 Corinthians 7:17, 20, and 24 is that we answer God's call over our lives in whatever state we may find ourselves in. No matter our circumstances or status, we all have a capacity to seek the Lord and His Will. Through contentment, we can find strength from Christ to endure hardships or escape distractions. Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 7:29-31 that *now* is the appo

There is an undeniable, inescapable calling over all of our lives. As children of God, we are all sent into our worlds to serve Him and glorify Jesus with our lives. Thankfully, Jesus built the Church to help us navigate our callings and direct us in our commission. In the earliest days of His movement, He gathered His original followers and cast a vision over them and gave them a mission statement that would define the church for years to come. He compared us to and commanded us to function as salt, light, and refuge for our world. These things all naturally better and improve whatever they are applied to, and they do this without force. Salt is made to preserve. Light is made to brighten. Refuge is made to restore. What these three things all have in common is that they are intentional in their function and irresistible in their impact. This is what Jesus was calling the church - all of us - to be like. In order to fulfill our callings, we must develop and practice habits of intentionality and irresisti

The subject of sexuality and morality can easily be segmented away from our faith, and only talked about when addressing sinful lifestyles. However, in 1 Corinthians Paul addresses the Church about God's original design and desires for men and women, and how we conduct ourselves as single and married people. His aim is that the Church would model for the world what it looks like to reflect God in this area so core to our being and the very image of God. Paul is very clear, along with the rest of the Bible, that our sexuality can be a wild fire or a holy fire. If we don't involve God in our relationships and marriages, we will we drift away from His design and suffer loss spiritually and personally. Thus, the example we set for our world is no different than the mixed signals the world gives. However, if we allow our passion for God to influence and direct our passion in our relationships, we will burn bright for Him in a lost world. This will also lead to mutually healthy and beneficial relationships. Lis

We all know what it's like to be called upon by someone. We also know what feels like to be called to something. Some callings seem like obligations, while others feel like opportunities. Callings can leave us with a burden, a conviction, a sense of must. They drive us with more than just a "have to", but with a "want to". As Christians, we have an inescapable calling over us all, compelling us to surrender our lives to God and voluntarily pursue His plans for our lives. The callings He places over us and plants within us are greater than the highs we get from this world, and supplant any lows we face in this world. They push us forward, pick us up, and fill us with peace. In this message, we talk about the inescapable calling over and on all of our lives as followers of Jesus. We study the life of Isaiah, and see how God got his attention when he was otherwise discouraged and distracted. Isaiah went to seek the Lord one day, mostly for comfort and consolation, but left His presence with a calling. We t

In another look at 1 Corinthians 6, we hear about Paul’s approach to combatting the sexual perversion of the ancient world - which turns out to be very relevant for us and helpful in navigating our own world. We talk about God’s original design of humanity and sexuality and how all of us have been impacted by the breakdown and fallout of that design. We also hear how Jesus wouldn’t budge from these ideals, and discuss why His stance wasn't one of condemnation, but an invitation to receive restoration and healing. Finally, we turn to 1 Corinthians and see how Paul charges Christians to show God’s way of purity and morality to the world. In a world without a moral compass, God was using the Church to recenter the human conscious around His design and spark a much needed, sexual revolution.

In part two of our look at 1 Corinthians 6, we learn more about what it means to be lights in our world and how our witness has the potential to make a tremendous impact on those around us. In this message, we focus on how our own recovery from sin and resistance to sin proclaims the Gospel to our neighbors. We hear Paul emphasize that no sin should be underestimated and all of us should be communicating the power of God's grace through our new, Christ-like nature. Listen to how the Bible talks about what the resurrection of Christ does for us and in us, and how we cannot consciously allow sin to take hold in our lives.

In part one of our look at 1 Corinthians 6, we discuss the importance of our Christian testimony and witness. Paul begins by addressing how we should react to being sinned against. Listen as we discuss how he builds off of Jesus' radical commands that Christians should be the lights of their world, and how our detachment from the material and temporary should help us always react with grace and mercy.