The Suffering Servant

Jesus comes to Earth as a king, unlike any other. He ushers in the rule and reign of God not by political power or might but servant-hearted love. Culminating on the cross, the servant-heart of Jesus is one of the defining features of His ministry. In the same way, those he calls to follow Him are to embody the same servant-minded way of living - full of compassion and self-sacrificial love - that signals God's coming kingdom far and wide.

To help facilitate LifeGroup discussion, we'll be posting resources for each week of the series.

Week 1: An Unexpected King

(Sermon) (LifeGroup Guide)

Week 2: Unexpected Compassion

(Sermon) (LifeGroup Guide)

Week 3: An Unexpected Table

(Sermon) (LifeGroup Guide)

Acts

SERMONS | PRAYER GUIDE | RELATED RESOURCES

“You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses.”

These were some of Jesus' very last words on Earth. And yet, a little over a week later, something happened. Jesus released His Spirit on the disciples who went out proclaiming everything Jesus did. This was the day The Church began.

You cannot tell the story of the early church without also telling the story of the person, work, and power of the Spirit of God. He's everywhere and on almost every page of Acts.

So as we start a new year, when many of us are slowly regathering and relearning exactly how and what it means to be and do church together, let's begin it the same way as it started with the early church. Together, let's embrace and get to know the unlimited power of the Holy Spirit that dwells with us to be with Jesus and do what Jesus did.

We hope that during this series, we experience afresh who the Spirit is and experience all the potential He can unleash in and through us when it comes to walking more closely with Jesus, including prayer, worship, and being on mission.

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SERMONS

To help facilitate LifeGroup discussion, we'll be posting resources for each week of the series.

Week 1: The Mission of Acts

(Sermon) (Scripture Guide)

Week 2: The Spirit of Acts

(Sermon) (Scripture Guide)

Week 3: How to Start a Fire

(Sermon) (LifeGroup Guide) (Scripture Guide)

Week 4: The First Fruit of the Spirit

(Sermon) (LifeGroup Guide) (Scripture Guide)

Week 5: The Meaning of the Miracles

(Sermon) (LifeGroup Guide) (Scripture Guide)

Week 6: Spirit-Filled Witnesses

(Sermon) (LifeGroup Guide) (Scripture Guide)

Week 7: The Spirit and the Flesh

(Sermon) (LifeGroup Guide) (Scripture Guide)

Week 8: You’re Only as Healthy as Your Secrets

(Sermon) (LifeGroup Guide) (Scripture Guide)

Week 9: Condemned on Earth, Applauded in Heaven

(Sermon) (LifeGroup Guide) (Scripture Guide)

Week 10: Following the Work of the Spirit

(Sermon) (LifeGroup Guide) (Scripture Guide)

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GRAB THE GUIDE

To help us grow in our understanding of God’s goodness, we decided to write a book for this series. You can download the digital version here.

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RELATED RESOURCES

To accompany our book and further expand on the topics covered in this series we’d recommend the following books and videos to you.

Advent 2021

SERMONS | THE BOOK

Since the early church, God’s people have celebrated the Christmas season every year through celebrating, giving, and singing about the birth of Jesus. But how often do we actually notice the words we’re singing? This year for Advent, we’re taking a look at some of the most popular songs during the holiday season and how they point to the ultimate hope this world’s needs: the good news of Jesus.

SERMONS

To help facilitate LifeGroup discussion, we'll be posting resources for each week of the series.

Week 1: O Come, O Come Immanuel

(Sermon) (LifeGroup Guide)

Week 2: Silent Night

(Sermon) (LifeGroup Guide)

Week 3: Hark! The Herald Angels Sing

(Sermon) (LifeGroup Guide)

Week 4: Joy to the World

(Sermon) (LifeGroup Guide)

GRAB THE BOOK

To help us grow in our understanding of God’s goodness, we decided to write a book for this series. You can download the digital version here and donate to our book fund if you want to support the cost of this book.

Stand-Alone | Thanksgiving Service

Sermon by Ant Frederick on November 21.

We live in a time where it is natural for us to notice and focus on the things that frustrate and trouble us. Many of us don't experience the joys of living with abundant gratitude. For our Thanksgiving service, we will look to God's Word for the encouragement we need to recognize, acknowledge, and appreciate the many blessings we have in Christ. Let's pursue lives of gratitude together.

Stand-Alone: Thanksgiving Service

(Sermon) (LifeGroup Guide)

For Our Good Always

SERMONS | THE BOOK | PRACTICES | READING PLAN | INTERLUDE 2 VIDEO |
RESOURCES | QUESTIONS?

Throughout history many people have rejected God because they wanted to act immorally...why does it seem like those walking away from God today believe God is the immoral one?

For Our Good Always argues that our thinking about morality can be profoundly reductionistic, lacking necessary categories that different cultures and times might help us see more clearly. It offers a truly important claim to consider:
God's boundaries and rules for us are—clearly and unmistakably—for our good.

SERMONS

To help facilitate LifeGroup discussion, we'll be posting resources for each week of the series.

Week 1: For Our Good Always

(Sermon) (LifeGroup Guide)

Week 2: God’s Morals are Different than Yours

(Sermon) (LifeGroup Guide)

Week 3: Do Not Harden Your Heart

(Sermon) (LifeGroup Guide)

Week 4: You Shall Have No Other Gods Before Me

(Sermon) (LifeGroup Guide)

Week 5: You Shall Not Make Idols

(Sermon) (LifeGroup Guide)

Week 6: You Shall Not Take the Name of the Lord Your God in Vain

(Sermon) (LifeGroup Guide)

Week 7: Observe the Sabbath and Keep it Holy

(Sermon) (LifeGroup Guide)

Week 8: Honor Your Father & Mother

(Sermon) (LifeGroup Guide)

Week 9: You Shall Not Murder

(Sermon) (LifeGroup Guide)

Week 10: You Shall Not Commit Adultery

(Sermon) (LifeGroup Guide)

Week 11: You Shall Not Steal

(Sermon) (LifeGroup Guide)

Week 12: You Shall Not Bear False Witness Against Your Neighbor

(Sermon) (LifeGroup Guide)

Week 13: You Shall Not Covet

(Sermon) (LifeGroup Guide)

GRAB THE BOOK

To help us grow in our understanding of God’s goodness, we decided to write a book for this series. You can buy the book at one of our Gatherings for a suggested donation of $7, or you can purchase through Amazon, Kindle, or Audible.

PRACTICES

For this series, we want to focus on a particular tool to help us learn to follow Jesus more closely. And given that we’re studying the Ten Commandments, our corporate practice is focusing on the fourth commandment - observing the Sabbath.

READING PLAN

As God’s people, we want to be guided by His Word and empowered by His Spirit to fuel us to be a Jesus-centered family on mission. This reading plan is designed to ground you in God’s Word to better prepare your heart for the teaching you’ll hear on Sundays.

Interlude 2 Video

Related Resources

To accompany our book and further expand on the topics covered in this series we’d recommend the following books and podcast to you.

Questions?

Have questions about our series, the Ten Commandments, or morality in general? We’d love for you to send them to us so we can talk through them on our Midweek Podcast.

You can send in your questions by texting TWO NOTCH followed by your question to 91011.

Jesus-Centered Family on Mission

It is important that, as a church, we are united around a common vision and identity. God desires to work powerfully in and through us as we continue to grow as a Jesus-centered family on mission. In this series, we’ll examine what it means to be a Jesus-Centered Family on Mission, and we’ll grow together in living out this identity that we have together in Christ. Join us for this impactful sermon series as we hope with great expectation for God to make us more into the church he has called us to be.

To help you worship at home, we'll be posting resources for each week of the series.

Week 1: Jesus-Centered

(Sermon) (LifeGroup Guide)

Week 2: Family

(Sermon) (LifeGroup Guide)

Week 3: On Mission with Him

(Sermon) (LifeGroup Guide)

Philippians

SERMONS | READING PLAN | PRACTICES | RESOURCES

In 62AD, we find the apostle Paul bound in prison and disconnected from his friends and church family. Yet during his imprisonment, he’s able to pen what is considered to be the most joyful book of the Bible - the letter to the Philippians.

In this 12-week series, we'll take a look at how our church family can become people of joy as we slowly transition back into “normal” life, and how our joy can be a witness to our city that Jesus is alive.

SERMONS

To help facilitate LifeGroup discussion, we'll be posting resources for each week of the series.

Week 1: Joy Defined

(Sermon) (LifeGroup Guide) (Scripture Guide)

Week 2: An Unstoppable Kingdom

(Sermon) (LifeGroup Guide) (Scripture Guide)

Week 3: Joy in Life or Death

(Sermon) (LifeGroup Guide) (Scripture Guide)

Week 4: Live as Citizens of the Gospel

(Sermon) (LifeGroup Guide) (Scripture Guide)

Week 5: The Humiliation & Exaltation Of Christ

(Sermon) (LifeGroup Guide) (Scripture Guide)

Week 6: Joy in our Perseverance

(Sermon) (LifeGroup Guide) (Scripture Guide)

Week 7: Gospel Friendships and Gospel Goodbyes

(Sermon) (LifeGroup Guide) (Scripture Guide)

Week 8: Delighting In The Surpassing Worth Of Christ

(Sermon) (LifeGroup Guide) (Scripture Guide)

Week 9: Pressing on to Maturity

(Sermon) (LifeGroup Guide) (Scripture Guide)

Week 10: Peace Over Anxiety

(Sermon) (LifeGroup Guide) (Scripture Guide)

Week 11: Rejoice In The Lord Always

(Sermon) (LifeGroup Guide) (Scripture Guide)

Week 12: The Power of Contentment

(Sermon) (LifeGroup Guide) (Scripture Guide)

READING PLAN

As God’s people, we want to be guided by His Word and empowered by His Spirit to fuel us to be a Jesus-centered family on mission. This reading plan is designed to ground you in God’s Word to better prepare your heart for the teaching you’ll hear on Sundays.

PRACTICES

As we launch new teaching series, we want to introduce new tools and practices that help you learn to be with Jesus and look more like Him.

For this series, we want to focus on a particular tool to help us learn to follow Jesus more closely. Given that the book of Philippians is one of the most joy-filled books in the Scriptures, our spiritual practice for this series is gratitude.

RESOURCES

For those wanting to dive further into Philippians, we’d recommend the following videos, books, and commentaries:

Philippians: The NIV Application Commentary

Paul’s Letter to the Philippians by Gordon Fee

Paul's Letter to the Philippians: A Socio-Rhetorical Commentary

The Other Half of Church by Jim Wilder and Michel Hendricks

The World, the Flesh, & the Devil

Because of the resurrected Jesus, we now have a resurrection hope. Through Jesus, we are called to live in light of His victory - but that means knowing what we are victorious over. In this series, we’ll take a look at the three enemies that wage war on our soul that Jesus has defeated on our behalf - the world, the flesh, and the devil. 

Our hope is that this series will drive us to a deeper love for Jesus as we learn to fight together as a church family and to see the victory that Jesus has made available for us.

To help you worship at home, we'll be posting resources for each week of the series.

Week 1: The Devil

(Sermon) (LifeGroup Guide)

Week 2: The Flesh

(Sermon) (LifeGroup Guide)

Week 3: The World

(Sermon) (LifeGroup Guide)

Week 4: The Fight Is Fixed

(Sermon) (LifeGroup Guide)

As God’s people, we want to be guided by His Word and empowered by His Spirit to fuel us to be a Jesus-centered family on mission. This reading plan is designed to ground you in God’s Word to better prepare your heart for the teaching you’ll hear on Sundays.

Stand-Alone | Easter 2021

Greater Than

How we view ourselves, others, and the world around us is so closely connected to how large (or small) our view of God really is. So for this series, we want to spend some time focusing on how God changes everything and what that means for us on a day-to-day basis.

To help you worship at home, we'll be posting resources for each week of the series.

Week 1: God Is Not Small

(Sermon) (LifeGroup Guide)

Week 2: God Is Greater Than Your View of Him

(Sermon) (LifeGroup Guide)

Week 3: God is Greater Than Your Shortcomings

(Sermon) (LifeGroup Guide)

For those wanting to dive further, we’d recommend the following books:

None Like Him by Jen Wilkin

God Has a Name by John Mark Comer

Not God Enough by J.D. Greear

The Knowledge of the Holy by A.W. Tozer

The Family of God

Jesus says the two greatest commandments in our formation are to love God and to love our neighbor. How we love our neighbor reflects our love for God, and how we love God manifests itself in how we love our neighbor. And the reality is, while our “neighbor” encompasses everyone, it most immediately applies to who we share a home with and see every day. So for this series, we want to train ourselves to look more like Jesus by learning to grow in our love for our closest neighbors - whether that means our spouse, kids, roommates, or friends.

To help you worship at home, we'll be posting resources for each week of the series.

Week 1: The Love Of God

(Sermon) (LifeGroup Guide)

Week 2: The Unity of God

(Sermon) (LifeGroup Guide)

Week 3: Dealing with Your Past

(Sermon) (LifeGroup Guide)

Week 4: Marriage in the Family of God

(Sermon) (LifeGroup Guide)

Week 5: Passive Men & the Women Who Resent Them

(Sermon) (LifeGroup Guide)

Week 6: Dating in the Family of God

(Sermon) (LifeGroup Guide)

Week 7: Conflict in the Family of God

(Sermon) (LifeGroup Guide)

Week 8: Parenting Part 1: Proactive Discipline

(Sermon) (LifeGroup Guide)

Week 9: Parenting Part 2: Reactive Discipline

(Sermon) (LifeGroup Guide)

|giv| 2020

For most of the Bible, God’s people were seen as an exiled people. Life was far from how they imagined or hoped, as they were constantly reminded of the brokenness and sin around them. And yet, amidst their exile, God reminded them that good news was on the way.

This year has been far from how anyone of us would have imagined or hoped either. We’re reminded in the headlines and in our daily lives that we are still a people in exile. So during this Christmas season, we want to once again remember that good news has come through Jesus, and one day He is coming back.

So every year, we take 3-4 weeks to intentionally focus on our hope in Jesus through growing in generosity. We take this time to think about how God has given us undeserved grace while we were still sinners and continues to grow us as his people.

Listen to sermons & download LifeGroup resources.

Week 1: Jesus, God With Us - (Sermon) (LifeGroup Guide)

Week 2: Jesus, Our Shepherd King - (Sermon) (LifeGroup Guide)

Week 3: Jesus, Our Comforter - (Sermon) (LifeGroup Guide)

Week 4: Jesus, God's Love - (Sermon) (LifeGroup Guide)

What are we praying & hoping to see God do in the midst of this series?

Our |giv| initiatives are practical ways for our church family to grow in service and generosity this year.

1. Sign up to Tithe

We want our first step of ongoing generosity to be towards the mission of our church. We are encouraging our church family to set up a recurring tithe because the gospel transforms us not just to be generous around the holidays, but throughout the entire year.

SET UP RECURRING GIVING HERE

2. Attend the Personal Finance Class

We want to equip our church family to be spiritually healthy by stewarding the financial resources that God has entrusted to us. On Sunday, January 24, January 31, and February 7, we’re hosting a class that consists of practical training to manage your finances, pay off debt, invest well, and practice biblical generosity. The class will be hosted virtually from 2:00-3:30pm.

SIGN UP FOR THE CLASS

3. LifeGroups partner with a Serve the City Organization

Due to the pandemic we’re postponing our annual Serve the City Weekend to a later date; however, we want every LifeGroup to select a Serve the City organization to partner with over the next year to serve.

PARTNER WITH STC

4. Give to Homeless No More

Homeless No More is a nonprofit organization that believes family homelessness is entirely solvable. They provide a continuum of care – from emergency services to transitional and affordable housing – that keeps each family together and meets their needs at the right time with the right services. By providing the support to move each family toward a permanent, self-sufficient solution, they continue their work to eradicate family homelessness and help parents and their children achieve lasting independence.

Because of the invaluable services they provide to our neighbors along the Two Notch corridor, we are excited about partnering with them to help meet the needs of some of the children they serve. We are asking each of our LifeGroups to come together to "Adopt & Shop" for clothes to help make sure each child has clothes that fit them this Christmas. Please see your LG Leader for more information about what is needed for the child your LG is adopting.
These items can be dropped off at the December Family Parade on Dec 5th, or at one of our Sunday Worship Services on Nov 29th, Dec 6th, or Dec 13th.

In addition to sponsoring children, we encourage you to give towards helping us reach our goal of raising and donating $2,000 to Homeless No More to further enable them to meet needs in our community.

FIND OUT MORE

GIVE HERE

To help us prepare our hearts for the Christmas season, we wrote a brand new five-week-long Advent devotional guide for you and your LifeGroup to work through during this season. Iif you haven’t received a hard copy yet, you can pick up a copy at any of our on-campus events. The guides are first come first serve and the suggested donation is $6 per copy.

DONATE HERE

The Way of Jesus: A Study of the Sermon on the Mount

SERMONS | PRACTICES | READING PLAN | COMMENTARIES

The gospel according to Matthew was one of the earliest accounts of Jesus’ life that circulated among the church. These early believers were first called, “Followers of the Way”. They weren’t marked by merely believing in a few theological truths, rather they were marked by being with Him, becoming like Him, and doing what He did. 

For this series, we’ll focus on the Sermon on the Mount from Matthew 5-7. It’s here King Jesus gives us a radical picture of what life in the Kingdom looks like. It’s our hope that as we meditate on Jesus’ words that we might more closely follow His Way.

SERMONS

To help you worship at home, we'll be posting resources for each week of the series.

Week 1: The Beatitudes

(Sermon) (LifeGroup Guide)

Week 2: Salt and Light

(Sermon) (LifeGroup Guide)

Week 3: Jesus and the Bible

(Sermon) (LifeGroup Guide)

Week 4: From Cruelty to Unity

(Sermon) (LifeGroup Guide)

Week 5: On Lust, Objectification and Adultery

(Sermon) (LifeGroup Guide)

Week 6: On Integrity and Becoming Truth-Tellers

(Sermon) (LifeGroup Guide)

Week 7: On Retaliation and Becoming People of Peace

(Sermon) (LifeGroup Guide)

Week 8: On Loving Your Enemies

(Sermon) (LifeGroup Guide)

Week 9: Warning Against Theatrical Righteousness

(Sermon) (LifeGroup Guide)

Week 10: The Practice of Prayer

(Sermon) (LifeGroup Guide)

Week 11: Kingdom Treasure

(Sermon) (LifeGroup Guide)

Week 12: Jesus on Anxiety

(Sermon) (LifeGroup Guide)

Week 13: Rebuke: Wounds That Heal

(Sermon) (LifeGroup Guide)

Week 14: A Call to Decide

(Sermon) (LifeGroup Guide)

PRACTICES

For this series, we want to focus on a particular tool to help us learn to follow Jesus more closely. It’s our hope that as we do new teaching series, we would be introduced to new practices that help us learn to be with Jesus and look more like Him.

In order for us to meditate more fully on Jesus’ words - our practice for this series will be journaling.

READING PLAN

As God’s people, we want to be guided by His Word and empowered by His Spirit to fuel us to be a Jesus-centered family on mission. This reading plan is designed to ground you in God’s Word to better prepare your heart for the teaching you’ll hear on Sundays.

COMMENTARIES

The commentaries below are some of the resources used in preparation for our series. For those wanting a more in-depth study of the text, we’d recommend the following to you.

Stayed On Him

This series is designed to help people find peace for their anxious souls by focusing on God.  In Exodus 3, as Moses is being sent by God to deliver His people from slavery/bondage, Moses asks what shall he say to the people when they ask who God is.  God tells Moses “I am who I am”.  He doesn’t give Moses a comparison to something they are already familiar with. That would always decrease who He is because nothing comes close to comparing to Him.  Instead, He says that He is who He is.

Over the next several chapters, He reveals Himself to His people through incredible acts/signs/wonders in a way that shows them who He is, way better than He can tell them. 

To help facilitate LifeGroup discussion, we'll be posting resources for each week of the series.

Week 1: Fixed Eyes (Sermon) (LifeGroup Guide)

Week 2: He Is Who He Is (Sermon) (LifeGroup Guide)

Week 3: He Is Our Passover Lamb (Sermon) (LifeGroup Guide)

Week 4: He Is Our Protector (Sermon) (LifeGroup Guide)

Week 5: He Is Our Provider (Sermon) (LifeGroup Guide)

Week 6: He Is Present (Sermon) (LifeGroup Guide)

1 Timothy

Jesus’ kingdom-sized vision is to go and make disciples - to teach others how to follow the way of Jesus in teaching and practice. As disciples are made and gathered together, the Church is formed. And that’s exactly what His followers did. Through making disciples and planting churches, the kingdom of God has been on the move for millennia and shows no signs of stopping. In the book of 1 Timothy, we zoom in on one of Jesus’ disciples equipping a new pastor on what the church is called to be and how to lead accordingly. In this series, we’ll take 12 weeks unpacking what is the church as we seek to be the called out people of God together.

To help you worship at home, we'll be posting resources for each week of the series.

Week 1: Defend the Truth (Sermon) (LifeGroup Guide)

Week 2: The Gospel vs The Law (Sermon) (LifeGroup Guide)

Week 3: Prayer and the Church (Sermon) (LifeGroup Guide)

Week 4: Men, Women, and the Church (Sermon) (LifeGroup Guide)

Week 5: Teaching, Authority, and the Church (Sermon) (LifeGroup Guide)

Week 6: Leadership and the Church (Sermon) (LifeGroup Guide)

Week 7: Some Will Fall Away (Sermon) (LifeGroup Guide)

Week 8: Guard Your Life and Doctrine (Sermon) (LifeGroup Guide)

Week 9: Care for the Widows (Sermon) (LifeGroup Guide)

Week 10: Godly Elders and Spiritual Authority (Sermon) (LifeGroup Guide)

Week 11: Warnings to the Rich (Sermon) (LifeGroup Guide)

Week 12: Fight the Good Fight (Sermon) (LifeGroup Guide)

As a church, we want to be people marked by God’s Word. For only in His Word do we find the death-defying, hope-giving good news of Jesus. In His Word, we see an invitation to a way of life that is overflowing with joy, peace, and love not only in the life to come but in the here and now.

Because of this, we want to put every effort into making us into Word-marked people. We do this by preaching the Bible on Sundays, bringing it into our lives throughout the week in our LifeGroups, and creating resources to help you abide with Jesus regularly.  

One of those resources is this 1 Timothy Bible Study Reading Plan. In this e-book, you’ll find the book broken down into smaller passages to help you slowly take in what we’re going through on Sundays. Along with that, we’ll be studying other passages in the Bible that connect with the bigger ideas in 1 Timothy throughout the week.

We want to see God’s Spirit move, to push back spiritual darkness, and bring His Kingdom here in Columbia. In the Bible and in church history, we see the Spirit of God unleashed when God’s people wage war on their knees in prayer. To that end, as long as we physically can’t gather together, we’ll be gathering virtually to pray for our church, our city, and our world. We’ll pray Wednesdays at 8am for 30 minutes through the video conferencing platform Zoom.

These calls will be facilitated by Midtown leadership or prayer team members and will last for up to 30 minutes. To take part in this make sure to sign up below no later than 24 hours before the Zoom call that week. Once signed up, you will receive a link Tuesday evening to our call the next morning.  

In the meantime as we prepare our hearts to pray together, we invite you to do three things

1 - Get equipped. To help us see the power of regular intercessory prayer in our lives and the life of our church, read the article “Kingdom-centered Prayer” by Tim Keller.

2 - Abide. The more we are personally with Jesus through regular Bible reading and prayer, the more we can serve our family in prayer. If you don’t have regular time in the Bible or don’t know where to start, follow along in our 1 Timothy Bible Study Plan or go to our Abide page.

3 - Consider fasting. When we fast we are more empowered by God’s Spirit and our love for others increases (Luke 4:1, 14, Isaiah 58:6, John 4:34, Matt 4:4). So before coming together to pray, we ask you to consider what you might give up to get more of God. Examples can include forgoing food, alcohol, TV or anything else that “grips your soul” for 24 hours before meeting. To learn more about fasting, listen to our sermon, “Fighting with Fasting.”

If you have any questions, contact Jake Blair.

“First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people” - 1 Timothy 2:1

When followers of Jesus pray for God’s kingdom to come, the Spirit answers. So as a church family, we will be praying in specific ways for each day of the week, as we ask Jesus to work in and through this series:

Monday

Pray for our church to be a “pillar and buttress of the truth” (1 Timothy 3:15). Pray that we would defend and cling to right doctrine which would lead to right hearts that produce in us right love for God and for others. 

Tuesday

Pray for needs within our church right now - those in your LifeGroup or others - who are struggling. Pray that they would draw near to God in this season. 

Wednesday 

Pray for our church family to fight for spiritual health and maturity. Pray that we would all “Keep a close watch on yourself and on the teaching” (1 Tim 4:16) and “fight the good fight of faith” (1 Tim 6:12).

Thursday

Pray for the leadership in our church - for the elders/pastors, coaches, LifeGroup leaders, directors and others who serve in various ministries. Pray that they would draw near to God and that he would sustain them with wisdom and joy as they lead.

Friday 

Pray for Citizens Church Charlotte. For all of the logistical details - jobs, housing, etc. For them to experience unity as a new church plant. Pray that the core team members would grow in their walks with the Lord and that people in Charlotte would come to know and love Jesus through Citizens Church.

Saturday

Pray for tomorrow’s Gathering - that whether we are together or apart, we would experience unity as a church family. Pray that we would be engaged with worship and the teaching of God’s Word. Pray that God would speak to us through conviction or encouragement.

Sunday

Pray for you and our church family to Sabbath well today. Pray that we take the time to stop our work, get physical rest, delight in God’s good gifts, and worship Jesus together.

Recommended Reading

As a church, we’re committed to providing you with helpful resources to better understand who Jesus is and how to live in light of that. The following titles were used for our current series. For more recommendations go to our Bookstore.

• Sojourners and Strangers - Gregg Allison

• 1&2 Timothy, Titus - Christ-Centered Exposition Series - Platt, Akin, Merida

• 1 Timothy - Reformed Expository Commentary - Philip Ryken

• "Church" - Collected Insights from A.W. Tozer

Lent: A Journey with Christ to the Cross

Traditionally, the season of Lent is a time for followers of Jesus to reflect on the days/events of Jesus' life that lead up to His crucifixion as we anticipate celebrating His death on Good Friday and His resurrection on Easter Sunday.

As a church family during this season, we’ll be focusing on His personhood & character by walking with Him through the days leading up to His crucifixion. During this series, we desire to see Him more clearly so that we can better trust, follow, and worship Him.

To help facilitate LifeGroup discussion, we'll be posting resources for each week of the series.

Week 1: Jesus, Merciful & Mighty (Sermon) (LifeGroup Guide)

Week 2: Jesus, Celebrated & Misunderstood (Sermon) (LifeGroup Guide)

Week 3: Jesus, Heartbroken & Indignant (Sermon) (LifeGroup Guide)

Week 4: Jesus, Safe Haven & Stumbling Block (Sermon) (LifeGroup Guide)

Week 5: Jesus, Treasured & Betrayed (Sermon) (LifeGroup Guide)

Week 6: Jesus, Triumphant in Tribulation (Sermon) (LifeGroup Guide)

Why I'm A Christian

The Christian faith is not a blind faith, but a rational faith that transforms what we believe about ourselves and the world around us. For this series, we’ll look at the evidence for the Christian faith to equip us as a church to be on mission.

During the Why I'm a Christian series, we want to know the concepts and ideas you that you wrestle with the most. If you have a question, text "TWO NOTCH" followed by your question to 91011. On the final week of this series, we'll choose a few of the texts we've received to discuss and answer. We hope that through this Q&A time, we'll provide further insight and substance to our faith in Jesus Christ.

For this series we’ve created a website full of helpful books, videos and articles. Check them out at whyimachristian.com

To help facilitate LifeGroup discussion, we'll be posting resources for each week of the series.

Week 1: God (Sermon) (LifeGroup Guide)

Week 2: Jesus (Sermon) (LifeGroup Guide)

Week 3: The Bible (Sermon) (LifeGroup Guide)

Week 4: Doubting Your Doubts (Sermon) (LifeGroup Guide)

Week 5: Q & A (Sermon) (LifeGroup Guide)

Stand-Alone | He is Omniscient

Sermon by Jake Blair on January 19, 2020.

Stand-Alone | New Year, New You

Sermon by Ant Frederick on January 12, 2020.

|giv| 2019

Every year, we take 3-4 weeks to intentionally focus on growing in generosity. We take this time to think about how God has given us undeserved grace while we were still sinners and continues to grow us as his people. We like to call it our |giv| series.

During the series, we will walk through the first two chapters of Matthew to prepare our hearts to celebrate God’s greatest gift to the world: Jesus. As Christians, because it’s far too easy to just get caught up in everything else so we want to make sure that we approach this season thoughtfully. Each week, we’ll look at different aspects of Christ's coming that ought to shape the way we think, feel and react to the Christmas season.

LISTEN TO SERMONS & DOWNLOAD Resources

Week 1: Jesus’ Resume - (Sermon) (LifeGroup Guide)

Week 2: Jesus’ Mission - (Sermon) (LifeGroup Guide)

Week 3: Jesus’ Kingdom - (Sermon) (LifeGroup Guide)

1. Start Tithing

We want our first step of ongoing generosity to be towards the mission of our church. By financially supporting our church together, we set ourselves up for a stable and sustainable ministry for years to come. We are encouraging our family to set up a recurring tithe because the gospel transforms us not just to be generous around the holidays, but during all seasons of our lives.

2. SIGN UP FOR SERVE THE CITY WEEKEND

The gospel transforms us to be generous with not only our finances, but our time and energy as well. We are coming together to serve our seven partner organizations and their clients at Serve the City Weekend from January 18-20, 2020.

3. RAISE $22,000 FOR OUR SERVE THE CITY PARTNERS

We want to fund Serve the City events throughout the next year and continue to do things like feeding Epworth students each Wednesday night at Student Groups.

4. Attend the Personal Finance Class

We want to equip our church family to be spiritually healthy by stewarding the financial resources that God has entrusted to us. On Sunday, January 26, February 2, and February 9 from 9:00am - 11:00am at our Downtown church, we’re hosting a class that consists of practical training to manage your finances, pay off debt, invest well, and practice biblical generosity.