Risen Church Nc

What sort of New Year's Resolutions should Christians make? Is there one vow that every follower of Christ ought to devote themselves to? Ephesians 4 identifies one thing that every Christian is called to do. The Apostle Paul declares that all who have put on Christ have this shared imperative over their lives. It turns out that this passage in Ephesians is just the tip of the iceberg of the New Testament's greatest message. In this message, hear how every Christian is called to consider how we relate to those around us. Our beliefs in God are actually proven and authenticated by our behavior towards others. As God has done for us, we are called to do for others. As we consider all that this passage introduces to us, we marvel at the possibility of a world where every Christian follows this path. Can you imagine what would happen if we all loved one another the same way God has loved us?

We all have a great work to do in 2022. Perhaps we haven't identified yet, or it could be something we've walked away from in the past. In this message, we turn to Nehemiah for inspiration about how we might commit our hands to the work God would have us do in this year. Nehemiah teaches us how to identify the "great works" that believers should prioritize. His story also shows how important accountability and persistence are, lest our works be abandoned. As you listen to this message and consider the text, ask yourself these very important questions: - What is my "Great Work" for 2022? In light of my faith and what God expects from me in my current walks of life - What can I not possibly ignore? Consider your role as a man/woman, husband/wife, single person, church member, etc. - How can I ensure that I will remain accountable to this work throughout this year? What support systems do I have in place to keep me from coming down from this work? - What temptations do I face, or could I face, that mig

At the dawn of a new year, we turn to God's Word for inspiration and direction. Naturally, there's no shortage of wisdom and guidance to be found. Romans 14 is a brilliant passage that calls for unity amongst a diverse group of Christians, who were quarreling over traditions vs liberty. One side argued that there were certain days that required a specific measure of reverence, while the other side advocated for less accountability and individual discretion. The Apostle Paul does a wonderful job at bringing everyone under their shared calling and shared cause. Paul reminds them, and us by way of inspiration, that every day belongs to God, and we are called to maximize them all for His glory. In this message, we gain incredible insight about God's sovereign design of us and the place in time He's placed us into. Turns out, every day that we wake up to was made with us in mind. Likewise, we were made with these very days in mind. We were made for these days, and these days were made for us. Listen to find ou

Every year that passes is another lap in an incredible journey towards our eternal destination. In 1 Corinthians 9, the Apostle Paul rallies the Church to consider the invitation and opportunity we have been given. We are called to run this race for the glory of God, devoting every day to Him. As we close another year, it's right that we evaluate the progress we've made. What did we add to our eternal portfolio in 2021? What do we need to change in order to live with the proper urgency and necessity in 2022? There is a gravitational pull on every one of our hearts that compels us grow as believers and go as followers. As we conclude another lap around the Sun, may we begin the next one with a heart of passion and purpose.

After enjoying the wonder of Christmastime and in reflection on another year under God's care, we spent the last Sunday of 2021 doing the only sensible thing: Savoring our Savior. Shouldn't our biggest regret of the year be that we didn't savor Him and seek out all of His grace? We are often full of worry or given to worshipping lesser things. If only we would spend every day soaking up all of God's goodness and allowing His grace to change our hearts. As we put a wrap on 2021 and look forward to 2022, this message helps put in perspective just how good our God is. Zephaniah's word to Israel is just as relevant to us, as he spotlights God's gift of salvation for us all.

Jesus was known to keep company of people from all across the spectrum. He dined with both Pharisees and Tax Collectors. Both sides, especially the religious crowd, wanted to keep Him for themselves, but Jesus could not be contained. On one occasion when Jesus sat down with a group of Pharisees, an unexpected and unwelcomed guest found their table. A woman labeled as an outcast and considered irredeemable came to worship Jesus, and this drew great ire from the religious men. This fateful encounter proves to be a perfect window into the Kingdom of God, and Jesus's thoughts about both sin and religion. In this message we discuss what the world had gotten so wrong about both matters, and how Jesus came to change everything. He came to lift the burden of judgement from every sinner. He came to expose religion's incapability to justify and satisfy our souls. He came to bring the love, hope, peace and joy that we all long for. Jesus came a Savior unto us all.

Matthew's version of the Christmas story doesn't begin with a grand introduction, nor does it immerse us into the drama and wonder of it all. No, Matthew's Gospel begins with a list of names. This isn't an ordinary list of names of course, but it is the genealogy of Jesus, tracing Him back to the beginning of Israel's story. Matthew assures us that Jesus's bloodline included the who's who of Israel's history - Abraham and David. However, much of the list features relative nobodies, that aren't so much as mentioned anywhere else in the Bible. There are also plenty of everyday sinners, who are remembered for all the wrong reasons. Yet, they're all included just the same. Matthew 1:21 tells us that Jesus came to save His people from their sins. The genealogy details just who His people were - People just like us. The message Matthew wants to send is pretty clear: Christmas is for EVERYBODY. Matthew's Gospel goes on to tell an incredible story about Jesus inviting and including sinners like him in the family

Christmas promises to produce a hope within us that is unwavering and thrilling beyond all compare. During the seasonal lead-up and celebration, it seems easy to believe that this is true and obtainable. However, for many of us once December 26 rolls around, Christmas is already a memory. The indication of whether we've embraced and received the true spirit of Christmas is not our hype in the build up, but our hope in the aftermath. When we've fully trusted in Jesus and have placed our hope in Him, we find everything this world won't and can't give us. Often we settle for hype because to truly find hope requires that we let go of any and all false hopes. For this reason, many celebrate Christmas but fewer are changed by Christmas. In this message we talk about why hope is always better than hype, and we identify and expose our false hopes. Christmas creates a space where all who are wearied can be honest about it and can rejoice knowing that Jesus is our unwavering hope.

We've all heard the story of the Wise Men who following a star, came to Jerusalem in search of a newborn king. Perhaps however, you haven't heard their backstory. Yes, their dedication to studying the heavens for a sign from God was a longstanding quest, that generations of stargazers had pursued. Practically the entire world featured religious societies which looked to the stars for a sign from God. Only the descendants of Abraham seemed to go about worship another way... In this message, we learn that God had long been planning to bring the rest of the world to Him. Listen and marvel at the phenomena that changed the course of history.

In this conclusion to our Acts series, we look back at the road taken by the Disciples from Jerusalem to Rome. It's clear that we can learn a lot from the early Church's constant, forward motion. They embodied the true spirit of being Jesus Followers. Arriving at Rome wasn't the end of the Church's journey, but rather, it was just the beginning. If we continue to be the movement, as they were... if we continue to follow Jesus and take steps forward... we too will impact our world just as they did.

In this message, we considered the familiar Christmas story in a different light, and what we discovered is pretty remarkable. It turns out that the people that we celebrate as the stars of story, were actually ridiculed in their day. Yet, that’s what makes their role in the story so perfect, because it captures the heart of Christmas. From Jesus's entrance into this world, He identified with those rejected and outcast by religion and culture. He spent His 3 year ministry totally focused on engaging and uplifting every downtrodden and oppressed person. Those marginalized because of their age, gender, profession or disabilities, were given a special place in Jesus's story. Ultimately, this was all part of His goal to make it known and felt that EVERY soul is valuable to God. Jesus made it clear that there is room and there is a place for EVERYONE in God's family. Even to those that are still a long ways off, Christmas sends a message that God has drawn near to us all.

Given the option, wouldn't you always want to be wherever God is? Even if God's choice is to lead us into a storm, if that is His dwelling place of choice, there remains no more desirable place for us. In Acts 27, we once again witness the Apostle Paul exemplify faith and delight in the Lord. In the eye of a hurricane, Paul leads a ship full of nonbelievers in a time of worship. They begin thanking God before He gives them their victory. In this message we learn that any moment in time wherein God is with us, is never a wasted moment. Our goal should be that we learn to live a "worship first" life, so that we might see the glory and good in every season of life.

As we prepare our hearts for Christmas, Advent teaches us how to wait patiently and expectantly on the Lord. Christ's coming is certain, but in Advent we lean into the wait and realize that it's not in vain. The Bible is full of promises from God, that He will visit us in our waiting and deliver us. If and when we ever consider giving up, we are reminded that just as Christ came the first time, He will come again. We've never lived in a world apart from His care, and have nothing but more of His goodness to anticipate. In this message, we juggle the frustration that often comes from our seasons of waiting with the unwavering promises of God. We look back at the time before Christ came, at a world in great distress. Listen and learn the story behind the earliest Christmas prophecies, and discover that the message is just as relevant for us today. When it feels like God is NO WHERE, Advent reminds us that God is NOW HERE.

How can our thanksgiving outlast just a day or a season? Is it possible for us to be thankful every day and in every season? Even in challenging circumstances? The Bible teaches us that the key to this kind of thankfulness is a life of giving and sacrifice. Choosing to leverage our lives, our blessings and burdens, for the glory of God allows us to stay in tune with the work God is doing and wants to do through us Blessings come to us from God so that they might work through us for God. We have been enriched in everything and in every way so that we may serve God through it all. In this message we talk how this will leads to a harvest of thanksgiving to God. We learn that our hearts are most full when we are living sacrificial lives. We will always be MUCH MORE blessed from loving, serving and giving than we will from living any other way.

This portion of Paul's custody and trials in Caesarea, features two leaders who are remembered for all the wrong reasons. They thought Paul was at their mercy, but the story reveals that they were truly blessed to be in his presence, and given the invitation to Christ through him. However, both of these men fail to capitalize on the opportunity presented to them. One thought it was too inconvenient, while the other just couldn't break the generation cycle his great-grandfather had started. We remember them for being so close, but not in Christ. In this message, we talk about the importance of having a personal relationship with Christ, and how the blessings of knowing Christ far outweigh whatever inconveniences that come from following Him. We also talk about the power of God that intervenes into the most unlikely of stories, to work His glory. Listen and marvel at the invitations that God gave to Governor Felix and King Agrippa, and consider the tragedy of their rejection.

Having been arrested in Jerusalem and now set to appear before the Roman governor of Judea, the Apostle Paul isn't worried at all. He knows that the accusations made against him by the Jewish leaders are baseless and he has done nothing to disgrace Rome. Neither of these charges would pose any threat to him. When he finally stands trial before Governor Felix, the Jewish leaders bring these two accusations against him, and he quickly discredits them. However, a third charge is mentioned, to which he doesn't deny one bit. In fact, he embraces it. Upon being accused as the ringleader of the Jesus Movement, the one who was spearheading all the mission trips around the Roman Empire, planting churches in every province, Paul gladly accepts the blame. Even though there was nothing illegal about his faith, the unknown motives made everyone uneasy. Paul wasn't concerned what his Christian faith might cost him, and used this trial as an opportunity to boldly preach Jesus. In this message, we talk about Paul's unas

All of us share memories of being reminded again and again as children to say, "thank you." Thankfulness is a learned behavior, not simply an emotional reaction. If we were aren't taught to be thankful, we won't be thankful... The Bible is full of reminders to praise and worship the Lord, giving us an infinite number of reasons why we should. However, the Bible is also clear that no matter how blessed we are and full we are, we are more likely to be forgetful, than thankful. In this two-part conversation about Thanksgiving, we establish why God is always good and sovereign and thus always worthy of our praise. We talk about our nature to forget, and why we must choose to say "Thank you, Lord" early, often, and out loud.

If only we had more, better, different, another... If only things were different. Often we look at where we are at in life and we grow frustrated at what is missing or what we need. We've all found ourselves dissatisfied and discontent because of our own inabilities and this world's unpredictabilities and uncertainties. If we're being honest, these same frustrations can keep us from pursuing or growing in a relationship with God as well. We feel as if everything has to be just right to know God and follow Him. If God could change one thing about us, this would be it. In fact, what holds us back the most in life is our unbelieving nature that resists and doubts God. In this message, we study the story of Abraham who was overwhelmed and wearied by his own inabilities and the unpredictability and uncertainty of his world. God invited him to trade all of that in for faith. Abraham trusted God's promise to him and showed us all the way to a true relationship with God. God's Word is as good as His blood, as

The Apostle Paul was relentless in his attempts to reach his Jewish brothers and sisters with the Gospel. Against the will of his companions, he returned to Jerusalem to preach that Christianity was the fulfillment of Judaism and that Christ did what the Law could not do. After being assaulted at the Jewish Temple and then seized by the Roman tribune, Paul was even more determined to use this as an opportunity to address the Jewish crowds. In this message, we marvel at Paul's love and passion for his kinsmen, and consider how this reflects Jesus' heart for us all. We examine the sincerity in his approach and measure our own ministries against it. We also hear from Paul's testimony how remarkable God's grace truly is, and see how his story was totally flipped around for God's glory. What was true about God's pursuit and redemption of Paul is also true for us. His compassion is great for us and His sovereignty is mighty over us. What the enemy weaponizes for evil, God can rewire and redeem for good. There i

After addressing several churches with a call to repentance, and a message of renewal and reform, John is called up to Heaven. His experience is meant to invite every believer to understand the bigger picture and adopt a new perspective for their lives. Catching a glimpse of Heaven and seeing our eternal destination, compels us to take even more seriously and sacredly the mission that God has given us. He has called us lights of our world and ambassadors of His Kingdom. How blessed we are to have been given such a role! In Heaven, John sees that the scene is one of constant praise and worship around Jesus. He alone is worthy of all the glory, honor and fame. This begs the question - Are our lives proclaiming and pointing to His worth? Or are we carrying water for lesser beings and smaller matters? In this message, we consider the worth of our Lord and Savior, and hear His call for reform and renewal once more. How urgent it is that we examine our lives and filter every choice we make through who's worth we