Citizens Church Sermons

God’s love is a transformative love that gives regardless of what He receives. He loves those who don’t love him back. It is a love that sacrifices; a cross shaped love. The world can only offer love that costs nothing and changes nothing. But God’s love costs everything, and changes everything.Scripture: John 3:16–18

Our inner voice of condemnation and blame, is a symptom of a heart that’s far from God’s voice of grace. You could lean into performance, or a cultural understanding of happiness, but God’s wisdom is more transformative than that. The better thing is that we bring our condemning hearts into the presence of God, humble our voice towards His, in order to be transformed to look more like image bearers of a holy God.Scripture: 1 John 3:19–20

This life is not without its trials and sufferings, but when we try to control what’s out of control, we miss God’s true desire for relationship with him. When we remember that life is a gift and God is the giver, we can respond in gratitude and surrender to the one in control. Scripture: Ecclesiastes 3:11–13

The apostle John was given a vision for what heaven will look like—A world that is real, where we are with God; a world with no pain, where nothing is wrong; and a world full of love, where all is made right. Scripture: Revelation 21:1-8

Jesus is Savior, Immanuel, Christ Messiah, and He is Lord. A Lord who was born in a stable, walked a perfect life, died a sacrificial death to cover our sins, rose again in order to defeat death, and now is seated at the right hand of God awaiting that future day when all of creation will be made new. That kind of Lordship should move us toward humility and worship, because if Christ is Lord, it means that we are not the main character in the story. Scripture: Luke 2:10-11; Philippians 2:5-11

In ancient Israel, a messiah, a Christ, meant you were anointed, or appointed by God. It was a title given to earthly prophets, priests and kings. But only in God’s chosen Son, in Jesus, can we finally proclaim that the true and better Christ has finally come. He is chosen and he chooses us, which means when we are in Christ, we are also chosen. Scripture: Luke 2:8-11

The incarnation is a central theme of the Christian faith. Remembering the story of the first Advent reminds us of the salvation Jesus Christ has provided, as well remind us of the call of participation in his Kingdom that God’s given us, as we wait in expectant hope for the second coming when all things are made new.Scripture: Matthew 1:18–25

The story of scripture is a story of redemption and a return from the darkness of sin to the light of perfect peace. In God’s story, we don’t have to create our own meaning. We are born with dignity and value simply because of the inherited meaning of being made in God’s image. And in this perfect story, we have a Savior who came and will come again, to bring perfect peace. Scripture: Luke 2:10–11

Our prayer life is both a litmus test of our walk with God, and a way to deepen our affections and align our hearts with Jesus. If we long to become more like Jesus, then we should pray like Jesus. Meaning, it shouldn’t be done to gain more acclaim, but rather to grow us more into Christlikeness. And as we pray, it shapes our desires to look more like God’s desires. Scripture: Matthew 6:5–13

The world would say that you need approval of others more than you need God, but Jesus paints a better way. God desires to have relationship with all of you, the seen and unseen parts. When we take off our masks, and the fear of man is replaced with a holy fear of God, the voice of God becomes the voice that matters most, and we become more like JesusScripture: Matthew 6:1–6; 16–18

The Preacher of Hebrews wants to assure this suffering church does not abandon the great salvation and hope they have in Jesus, because no one else brings us closer to God than Him. Scripture: Hebrews 3:1–6Guest Preacher: Tymarcus Ragland

When we think about becoming more like Jesus, it’s easy to feel inadequate and lost in our shame, but our confidence lies in the hope we have in Jesus Christ. John 17 reminds us in a prayer that Jesus says about us, his followers. When we listen to the very voice of Jesus Christ, he reminds us of your identity, purpose and destiny. Scripture: John 17

In Feeling Like Jesus, we explore the full range of Jesus’ emotions—joy, sorrow, compassion, anger, and awe—and what they reveal about God’s heart. Our emotions are not to be ignored or worshipped but engaged that we might draw closer to the Father. This message invites us to feel deeply, live truthfully, and become like Jesus

As Christians, we live in between the resurrection and return of Jesus. The kingdom is here already but not yet in full. The sermon on the mount teaches us to live with hope, confidence and resilient faith as already/not yet people. Scripture: Matthew 6:9-10

Followers of Jesus are meant to be a light in the darkness of the world, to be mirrors of Jesus to those around them and spread the gospel. We can do that through our prayer, our presence, and partnering with other believers. Key Text: Matthew 5:13-16

The outpouring of knowing and loving of God is a turn to share the way of Jesus. The friends of the paralyzed man in Luke 5 show an example of the zeal we need to turn away from our sins and turn to Jesus. God’s design is to use Christ-seeking people, growing in their Christlikeness, to carry his message for the sake of the world. Scripture: Luke 5:17–32

Our culture is full of examples of communities—groups of like minded individuals trying to foster camaraderie and shared experience—and yet we are still lonely as a society. God is communal in nature, and since we are created in His image, we mirror His communal nature. However it’s not just shared-interest that we need but deep change through repentance, which happens best in the context of Christ-centered community. Scripture: 1 John 1:5–10

Better understanding of our source idols should lead us to surrendering the things we lean on more than God to God. Because the only thing that replaces our idolatry of our love of the world is a stronger love: the love for God. Jesus has the power to expel our idols from our hearts, through our confession and repentance. Scripture: 1 John 2:15; 5:21

The story of the rich young ruler is a story that points to the idolatry we all struggle with. In our human brokenness, idolatry means putting anything other than God at the forefront of our hearts and minds. Becoming more like Jesus means re-directing our loves from the idols of our life—the things where we seek power, approval, comfort and control—to Jesus, who loves us and never fails us. Scripture Mark 10:17–22

We are born into a fallen world of competing voices. In the desert, Jesus is tempted in every way yet without sin, fully living in God’s world God’s way. There we learn from Jesus’ example that the voice of the Father never leads us astray. Thinking like Jesus means listening to the voice of the Father. Scripture Matthew 3:16–4:11