Risen Church Nc

Did you know that the man known for his wisdom, power, fame, and success is also known for his tremendous regret? King Solomon was the envy of his day, yet in his own reflections on his life, he spoke of shame and disappointment. In this message, we conclude our series on our Souls and how we should give priority to them, by listening to the words of Solomon. He contrasts a life well-lived with a life wasted on vanity, and points us in the direction that both honors God and preserves our souls. What may seem instinctual turns out to be contrary to what our souls need the most. Solomon sums up the whole duty of man in a simple, yet convicting way - and thanks to Jesus, it becomes all the more clear to us what is the path to a fulfilled, purposeful life.

1 Corinthians' thesis is that the Church is the Body of Christ, detailing how we should love each other and why we truly need one another. In chapter 11, Paul teaches how we share in His Body through worship and fellowship. He highlights how celebrating the Lord's Supper particularly emphasizes the importance of our joint participation in Christ and our partnership together in Him. Listen as we discuss all of this and more!

Building off of Jesus' most thought-provoking question about the value and importance of our souls, we take a look at the story of Ruth. Her story turns out to be a reflection of all of our stories, having come from our family which was far from God, she received an opportunity to step into His story. There were all sorts of reasons as to why Ruth shouldn't have been so committed to staying with her mother-in-law and relocating to Judea, but after weighing her options, she knew what she had to do. In this message, we consider the Ruth's story and dive into the details of her family history to discover how unlikely it was that she found herself at the crossroads of faith. Ruth makes a great exchange, embracing God's invitation to her and we realize that this same invitation has been given to each of us.

Amidst all the resolutions we may make and work towards in 2023, it's important that we consider what goals we should make for our souls. After all, our souls are us *with or without* the material statuses or possessions of this world. Our soul is our inner self, the seat of our emotions, and the center of our personality and conscience. Needless to say, our soul is the most valuable part of us. When Jesus came on the scene, He promised and offered to change lives for the better. People came to Him seeking healing and provisions, and He provided again and again. Until one day, however, His message shifted and He began calling people to tend to a greater need. In this message, we look at one of the most pivotal moments in the Gospels, where Jesus notices that none of the hundreds of people following after Him were seeking Him with concern for their souls or a desire that He would help reconcile their hearts to God. Most of them, didn't even acknowledge that there was any sort of need within their souls - w

We return to our study in 1 Corinthians and once again hear Paul talk about the importance of considering the greater good of Christ's Body over our own interests and desires. He reminds us of the way of Christ, which is an others-first lifestyle. Being members of Him, we now understand that to glorify God, we must make decisions that edify His Body. From there, Paul launches into addressing a more specific issue, concerning gender identity and gender roles within the Body of Christ. He offers a unique, sacred perspective on how Biblical manhood and womanhood is as tied into our spiritual attributes as they are our physical distinctions. To disregard God's spiritual design of men and women is as concerning as disregarding our physical differences and callings. Ultimately, this all ties into what properly edifies His Body and what best reflects His image to our world. Listen to this message and more of our study in 1 Corinthians for a deep dive into how we all called into the Body of Christ and made to fu

Every new year presents an opportunity for renewal and rededication. It also lends itself to setting goals and making resolutions. In this first message of our new year, we set out to pursue the goodness of God and make the most of every day that He gives us. He promises to make Himself known, if we simply seek Him and desire Him above all else. Regardless of what has happened or may happen, we can have confidence that God can be found and His goodness felt in the Land of the Living.

As another year comes to an end, we consider the brevity of this life and seek to put in proper perspective our time on earth, under God's rule and care. This leads us into an even more serious conversation about the general purpose of all of our lives, and how we might seek to complete our God-given tasks here on earth in an honorable way. In this message, we pray for God to fix our eyes on His coming Kingdom as the passage of time signifies an important milestone in our journey towards Him. Listen as we search the Scriptures to better understand the greatness, graciousness, and goodness of our God, and learn how we might finish our coarse well.

A Christmas reflection on the gifts of love and life exclusively found in Jesus.

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