Risen Church Nc

In the early days of America, Benjamin Franklin was asked outside the Constitutional Convention what sort of government he and the other founding fathers were seeking to establish. Famously, he responded, "A republic, if you can keep it." That is, the American ideal would require a great amount of responsibility and care in order to maintain and preserve it past its inception. When God first created Adam, he placed him in a garden and gave him a simple task to work and keep it. It was as if He was saying to Adam, "I have given you a Paradise, if you can keep it." Well, we all know how that worked out... In this message, we continue this series by looking back at God's creation mandate over Adam and Eve, and how they were called to live a life of purpose in a world created just for them. We learn how responsibility and productivity have always been core to God's desire for all of us and the secret to realizing God's Kingdom in our midst. We discover our "why" or "what for" by learning from the famous crea

It's been said that in order to truly appreciate and fully understand something you need to know where it comes from. There is so much that can be discovered and revealed through learning the origin story. When God was rescuing the children of Israel out of Egypt and preparing them for the Promised Land, He wanted them to know their history. They were generations removed from their forefathers, and had never heard about the stories of how God made the world and set the stage for the children of Abraham. For that reason, the book of Genesis is a vital resource that shows all of us the origin story of creation. More than telling us what happened however, it reveals to us why God made the world and set us at its center. In this message, we learn why God wanted Israel to know this story and we hear it for ourselves in a fresh way. Listen and hear how God's love overflowed into our universe and how creation is His gift unto us all. As we learn why God made us, we understand our own hearts should overflow with

Why do we fall? So that we might learn that it's God alone who raises us up and gives us true, lasting strength. So that we might not put our faith in unstable, unproven foundations, but place our hope in Christ alone. In Paul's introduction to 2 Corinthians, he reminds us of God's sovereignty over and faithfulness to His own, before launching into a larger conversation about sharing in Christ's sufferings. On the surface these two topics seem far apart, but they actually compliment one another. In this message, we learn about the privilege that comes with sharing in Christ's sufferings, and how this brings us more in tune with the comfort and hope that we only find in Him. Listen as we consider how to reframe our circumstances with God's unwavering promises.

2000 years ago, a relatively unknown Jewish carpenter cast a vision about the movement He was building and the unstoppable power that would fuel it for all time to come. At the time, before a modest audience of a rabble group of misfits and outcasts, this seemed like a pipe dream. Even those who esteemed this man to be someone special - perhaps even Israel's long-awaited Messiah - wondered if His movement could reach such heights. He didn't stop there in His vision casting though. He went as far to say that His movement would transcend time and life on earth, as in what He was building would bridge the gap between this life and what comes next. In a world where people were clinging to this earth out of fear of what came next, this seemed even more unlikely. 2000 years later, the Church of Jesus Christ is a global community, centered around a fearlessness of death and confidence in God's plan no matter how uncertain things appear. So many forces have tried to stop it, yet all of them proved to be powerless

On Good Friday, God established that He will forever be FOR US, by doing something FOR US. He provided a solution for all the ungodly, unrighteous sinners, when Jesus took our place on a cross. He bore the curse of this fallen world FOR US, so that we might be cured from its power and bondage. There is a healing that we can exclusively receive by trusting in Jesus' work on the cross. No matter our wounds or scars, regardless how great our shame and sin may be - we can be made whole again through Him.

As every household in Jerusalem gathered to celebrate the Passover, so did Jesus and His disciples. However, nobody was prepared for Jesus' spin on this foundational holiday. His words that night still ring loud and powerful all of these years later, literally defining the work He would do the following day. Jesus broke the bread and raised the cup and declared that from now on this night would remind the world of Him. In this message, we look back on the history of Passover and the nation of Israel. We discover the story of redemption which began so long ago, but was always building towards a Messiah. Listen and learn how Jesus is our Passover Lamb, and how God decided in advance that He would pass over our sin and provide Jesus as our atoning sacrifice.

What would you do if a pathway appeared for you to be a king? No, not necessarily in the royal sense, but in terms of autonomy and control. What if you could maximize power and privilege, and minimize all weakness and limitations. What if the world around you suddenly leaned in your direction and bent towards your will? All that resists, frustrates, and works against your will - suddenly all began working in your favor and according to your rules. You would take this path in a heartbeat, wouldn't you? We all would. We may not admit it, but there are people that we wish would just listen to us. If we were king or queen... if we had the power and all the luxuries in the world, life would be so much better. 2000 years ago, Jesus Christ obviously had come from God and deserved all the glory anyone could give Him. All the stars aligned the week of Passover 33 AD, as thousands declared Him their king. However, to everyone's shock and awe, Jesus said, "No thanks" to this opportunity to seize power and become the

As Paul signs off on his letter to Corinthian Church, he invites them to look beyond their local body, and consider the work being done elsewhere. His lengthy message about the health of Corinth concludes with a reminder of the work it takes to plant and foster other healthy churches. In this message, we hear Paul invite us to not only prioritize our role in our local church - as the entire letter stressed - but also consider how we are supporting the growth of the Church at large. He reminds us that we are all to always be on mission and see ourselves as Evangelists. His invitation to step onto the mission field begins with a call to support and invest in the Kingdom work financially, but goes beyond that, encouraging us all to labor for the Lord out of a love for Him and His people. Listen as we hear this invitation and see that these are not things we should pray about doing, but commandments we are all expected to do.

We often confuse and conflate God's goodness with what's expected and what's easy to process. Sometimes however, God's good plans involve subverting our expectations so that we might gain a stronger faith through in the end. The story of Lazarus is one that we all know so well, but had we been there and were observing it in real-time, can you imagine our emotions? Can you imagine what Lazarus was thinking as Jesus delayed, what his sisters were thinking, and everyone involved? Jesus had healed over 30 individual people in His ministry, not counting the multitudes healed as He passed through town after town. Had we been there, we'd wonder why Lazarus' story would go any different. In this message, we learn that sometimes our lives take an unexpected direction, and God isn't merely passive, but rather active in these twists and turns. Even in our let downs, God is working so that we might be lifted up to a higher place - so that we might learn and take hold of Resurrection Life. Even though we fall, or di

As Paul continues to emphasize how the Resurrection of Christ is an inseparable pillar of the Christian faith, he focuses in on one particular aspect. He teaches the Corinthians how the of the Resurrection takes on its ultimate meaning as we suffer and face the various trials of this life. In this message, we heed Paul's invitation to view our hardships through the lens of Jesus' death and resurrection. We review the words of Jesus and hear the testimonies of His closest followers, and see how suffering actually allows us to tap into what all the resurrection promises us and empowers us with. As we bear the cross of Christ, we are being renewed and strengthened by His resurrection power. Every trial we face allows us to experience an exclusive grace and comfort of God. Each of these experiences gives us a taste of the Resurrection, as with every trial, the Final Resurrection comes more clearly into view.

All of our stories feature something that challenges or takes away our ability to see clearly. Perhaps we were born into something that has made it hard for us to see past all the obstacles in our way. Perhaps we experienced or encountered something along the way that frustrates our outlook on life. It could be, however, that we've set certain expectations and developed a particular set of beliefs that have made us stubborn and resistant towards anything that doesn't operate on our own terms. Regardless which category we slot into, John 9 brings to us a powerful word and invitation from Jesus. No matter what our stories look like now, they can be radically changed and redirected by Jesus. We may feel as if there's no hope for us, or we may question and seek to understand everything, but Jesus presents us another way. John 9 features Jesus speaking into our pain and problems, and promising purpose and an opportunity to witness God's glory. It also spotlights just how easy it is to miss out on God, if we re

In this text, Paul begins to address his final area of concern within the Corinthian Church: Many were denying the Resurrection. While they believed in Jesus, they had trouble accepting His humanity and were questioning what the big deal was about His resurrection and the hope of our own resurrection. They saw no redeemable value in this physical world and longed for an escape. Also, they wondered why would God condescend Himself take on the substance of this world? Many Christians in our day fail to truly appreciate and understand God's plans for our earthly lives and His intent in resurrecting our physical bodies one day and restoring this earth to its original design. We too see Christianity as a way of escape and fail to understand that God's eternal plans very much involve this physical creation. In this message, we take a deep-dive into why Paul was so passionate about the Resurrection and why we should all seek a better, more full understanding of God's plans for this earth. We consider some of the

One fateful morning, as hundreds began ascending the Temple Mount with animals in tow, the religious leaders came to make a different kind of sacrifice. Their forces had caught a woman in adultery and they were set to make public example of her just outside the Sanctuary courtyard. There they would stone her and send a message to the whole land, that while sacrifices for sin were being made a few yards away, some sin and some sinners were just too far gone to be atoned for... But there to meet them that morning was Jesus, who would shine a Light of hope and grace into the world that day. Jesus intervened and saved the woman, and extended an invitation of mercy to her, and all sinners alike. In this message, we look at what the Temple was always supposed to point to and how by the days of Jesus, it had failed to communicate God's message of hope and salvation. We look to Jesus and see in Him the Light of Life that means forgiveness and freedom for every sinner. We hear Him invite us to embrace His grace and

The final major topic of 1 Corinthians is all about the Resurrection of Christ - what it promises us and the kind of life it propels to. In this first look at chapter 15, Paul recaps the simple Gospel, emphasizing some key elements that can easily be misunderstood. We are reminded of the grace of God that saves us and sustains us and about the importance of spreading the simple, yet powerful message. As we reflect on what salvation means to us, we resolve to keep the Gospel pure so that more might be resurrected by God's grace.

When John set out to write his account of the life of Jesus, he took a different approach than his contemporaries. Rather than recounting every sermon, parable, and big event, John chose to focus in on the people that Jesus impacted the most. In his Gospel, he highlight several in-depth, one-on-one conversations between Jesus and people just like us, to show us that all of us have a place in God's story... We can all have our own Jesus story. In this series we are spotlighting four episodes in John's Gospel that feature Jesus speaking light and life into the hearts of men and women who were searching for answers and direction. In this first message, we look at the story of Nicodemus and seek to understand his struggle, which is one we all can relate to. Jesus taught him about a New Birth and pointing him towards an exchange that will truly transform our lives.

In this chapter, Paul uses the subject of Spiritual Gifts to address an overarching concern he has about the Church at Corinth - and all local bodies of Christ for that matter. Even just a few decades into the Church movement, Paul was noticing a trend that Church services and Church communities were becoming very insider-focused and mostly about appealing to the senses of those who already belonged. By spotlighting the gift of prophecy, emphasizing the ability church members have to encourage one another and build up one another, Paul warns the Church of becoming obsessed with spectacle and emotion. This path would lead (and has led) the church in a direction that effects its ability to reach outsiders and is detrimental to believers' faith. Paul desires that the Church produce Christians with faith not tied to feelings or a time and place, which is strong enough to stand on its own no matter the environment or circumstance. In this message, we take a "behind the scenes" tour at what goes into producing a

In 1 Corinthians 14, Paul returns to the subject of Spiritual Gifts and enlightens us even more about their intended use. God envisions a Church filled with devoted members, filled with His Spirit, and leaning in each others direction. Paul makes it clear to us that Spiritual Gifts only find their true purpose when in service to one another within the Body of Christ. In this message, we break down what Paul determines is the most important Spiritual Gift, which we should all pursue. We define and discuss the gift of prophecy, and how it punctuates the design and importance of Church fellowship for every believer. We also hear Paul contrast this edifying gift with those gifts that lend themselves to being more individualistic and more about the spectacle. As we learn His Word and are led by His Spirit, God desires to give all of us a prophetic voice to speak His truth out to our worlds and insight that we might help build up our brother and sister in Christ.

In our final installment of our "We Believe" series, we take a look at the place Jesus says that all true, devoted followers will end up eventually. When He called His original disciples, He cast a vision over them concerning what would become their number one passion, even if it would take years for them to arrive at it. Listen as we discuss how God wills that all of us be filled with a heart for reaching the world with the Gospel. We've all been called to make disciples and reach the nations for Jesus, through direct and indirect means. God is at work in our world to remind us daily that this should be our greatest passion. Reaching the world begins with reaching our worlds, and beyond what we are called to do, we are expected to support those who labor alongside of us. It all comes down to how much our faith means to us and realizing how great an impact sharing Jesus can have. One things for sure, we only know Jesus because someone first reached us.

We believe that if we have been reconciled to God, we will seek to be reconciled to one another. Early on in the story of humanity, God confronted one of the first people about the risk of unresolved and unchecked anger. As it turns out, the Bible has tons to say about how dangerous anger and hatred are. In this message, we discover that anger and hatred ultimately stem from a disconnect in our relationship with God. The light of the Gospel shines on this emotion and subject in particular, because our very salvation is based in God's love and forgiveness. Listen as God reveals to us how crucial it is that we overcome any anger and hatred in our own hearts, so that we might allow the power of the Gospel to work in and through our lives.

The New Testament anchors the entire Christian ethic and lifestyle in love. On every page and from every author, we find and hear reminders of the love of God displayed and demonstrated through Jesus. We are invited to receive that love and we are commanded to share that love. In this message, we look at Paul's definition of this selfless, sacrificial love. Paul details how we can embody this love, from our attitudes to our actions, so that we are without excuse. He also declares that the true mark of maturity and growth in a Christian is in how we love and our persistence in love. Every Christian has been saved by God's love and is compelled from His Spirit to remain in His love and refuse to live by any other way. If we want to change the world, like God has changed our hearts, it will only come through love.