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.

Celebration Sunday 2019

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Life of David

We often prop David up as a great hero of faith. When in reality, he was a regular person just like you and me. He trusted God and God did mighty things through him, yet he also ignored God and failed miserably. Whether you’re a long-time Jesus-follower or you think you’re too far away from Him, David’s life will have something to say to you.

For this series, we hope your trust in God matures and you are moved towards God's steadfast love as we dig into both the victories and defeats of David.

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

Week 1: David and Gratitude (Sermon) (LifeGroup Guide)

Week 2: David and Lament (Sermon) (LifeGroup Guide)

Week 3: David and Reorientation (Sermon) (LifeGroup Guide)

Week 4: David and Bathsheba (Sermon) (LifeGroup Guide)

Week 5: David and Nathan (Sermon) (LifeGroup Guide)

Week 6: David and Saul (Sermon) (LifeGroup Guide)

Week 7: David and Tamar (Sermon) (LifeGroup Guide)

To view more reading recommendations, go to our online bookstore.

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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. Our reading plan will help ground you in God’s Word and give you daily prayer prompts to better prepare your heart for the teaching you’ll hear on Sundays.

Click here to download/print our entire Life of David Reading Plan.

Stand-Alone 2019 | Submitting to One Another

Sermon by Ant Frederick on August 4, 2019.

Stand-Alone 2019 | Easter

Sermon by Antony Frederick on April 21, 2019.

Stand-Alone 2019 | Good Friday

Sermon by Adam Gibson on Friday, April 19.

Stand-Alone 2019 | Looking for Water

Sermon by James White on March 17, 2019.

Serve the City

One of our favorite ways to kick off a new year is to rally our family toward Serve the City Weekend. To do that, we’re spending these first two weeks focused on understanding why we serve. We want to learn from Scripture and see how God first served us. Our goal is that the ultimate act of service, the Cross, would motivate us to sacrificially love and serve the people around us.

LISTEN TO SERMONS & DOWNLOAD LIFEGROUP RESOURCES.

Week 1: Count Others as More Significant - (Sermon) (LifeGroup Guide)

Week 2: Death Defying Compassion - (Sermon) (LifeGroup Guide)

Week 3: Jesus for Shalom - (Sermon) (LifeGroup Guide)

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 six partner organizations and their clients at Serve the City Weekend from January 18-21, 2019.

RAISE $21,000 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.

|giv| 2018

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.

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 six partner organizations and their clients at Serve the City Weekend from January 18-21, 2019.

3. RAISE $21,000 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.

Stretch goal - Any money we raise beyond the $21,000 will be put towards renovating and installing a full kitchen in our unused building on Barnwell St. beside our office. This will allow us to serve meals as part of our ministry to the homeless, use the facility to save money on food cost for future events, and utilize the building as an event rental space.

4. Attend the Personal Finance Seminar

We want to equip our church family to be spiritually healthy by stewarding the financial resources that God has entrusted to us. On Saturday, January 26 from 9:00am-3:00pm at our Downtown church, we’re hosting a seminar that consist of practical training to manage your finances, pay off debt, invest well, and practice biblical generosity.

LISTEN TO SERMONS & DOWNLOAD Resources

Week 1: Mercy - Its Source & Motive - (Sermon) (LifeGroup Guide)

Week 2: Grace Givers - (Sermon) (LifeGroup Guide)

Week 3: A Test of Genuine Faith - (Sermon) (LifeGroup Guide)

Celebration Sunday 2018

We did not have a sermon during our city-wide Celebration Sunday Gathering on November 18, 2018, but you can grab the LifeGroup Guide and watch all of the baptism videos that played during the Gathering by clicking the buttons below.