Risen Church Nc

2000 years ago, Crucifixion wasn't something only heard about in history books, it was a constant backdrop of every day life. In the Roman Empire, people were crucified regularly, and as a result everyone was familiar with the sights and sounds of this brutal, inhumane practice. This makes the demand for Jesus to be crucified all the more bewildering. Over the last few days of Jesus' life, the cries were ever-growing for Him to be put to death in the most devastating way. What had humanity come to? How could things have descended to this place. Was this the world and the people to whom God had sent Jesus? Was there any hope for redemption and regeneration? As Jesus suffered, John tells us that His mother Mary watched it all from the hillside. Can you imagine the emotions she experienced? Assuredly, God the Father watched from Heaven as well. Both were near the cross, not only in proximity but participation. While Mary felt helpless, surely God could do something about this. Jesus was one with the Father

On Palm Sunday, Jesus was by far the most popular person in all the land and had enough support to overturn both Temple and Empire. By Friday of the same week, everything had changed. Everyone had turned on Jesus. Shouts of praise had turned into jeers. "Hosanna" was replace with "Crucify Him!" How did this happen? How did Jesus go from beloved to betrayed? Chosen to cursed? Destined for exaltation to delivered over for extermination? The Apostle John was there for it all and gives us the inside scoop of how it all unfolded. He heard the sermon after the parade on Palm Sunday that thinned the crowds. He heard the rumors of the religious leaders colluded with Judas to set a trap for Jesus. He tells us exactly how Jesus went from adored to unfollowed. Listen as we unpack how Jesus' movement appeared to unravel over a single week. One thing becomes clear with each passing day, Jesus wasn't panicking at all. Even when He was left alone, arrested, and falsely accused, He was absolutely committed to His plan -

On two different occasions, the crowds that accompanied Jesus tried to make Him king. WIth numbers greater than the average Roman legion, all Jesus had to do was lean into their support and they would be unstoppable. He had displayed such greater power and wonders, clearly He was able to do whatever He wanted. After refusing the support again and again, one thing was becoming clear - Jesus didn't want to be king. Indeed He was a king, but a different kind of king - one unlike this world had ever seen. In this message, we take a look at Jesus' response to the crowds rallying around Him on two different occasions. We hear Him inform His Disciples in private the true nature of His Kingdom and cast a vision over them for how they should represent Him going forward. As Jesus entered Jerusalem to shouts of "Hosanna, Hosanna", He would refuse the throne and embrace a cross. This is why He came into this world, leaving the glory of Heaven to face a gory punishment from Rome. Herein is Christianity defined, showin

In this message, we unpack yet another powerful passage from Romans, regarding the impact salvation should and can have on a believer. After teaching us about what it means to be "alive in Christ" and "made new", Paul takes us deep into a conversation about grace and sin. Now that we're under grace, we can come out from under sin. We no longer have to be slaves to sin, because sin is no longer our master. If we are still obeying our sinful nature and walking in the flesh, we are out of step with Christ. Romans 6 is a must-read text for any believer, but especially anyone that is struggling to break free from their old life. Paul gives us practical instruction about how we can take full advantage of our forgiveness and freedom. He calls us to a place of total dependency and devotion to Christ, so that we can be filled with His life and power. As we'll discover, following Jesus removes the burden of sin and the pressure of religion, and opens us up to True and Eternal Life.

Within just a few decades of Jesus’ time on earth, the Roman Empire was totally immersed in the Jesus Movement. Try as they might to quell its growth and destroy it, Rome was powerless. However, it was undeniable that there was great power behind and within the Church. As Jesus became a household name, questions burned within every heart and mind: Who is Jesus? Why are so many worshipping Him? What exactly did He accomplish in His ministry? In this series, we follow John’s telling of Jesus’ story to learn from an eye-witness and Day One Follower the answers to these important questions. John gives his testimony of who Jesus was to him and why he came to worship Him. John’s words are bold and profound, and leave us without a doubt regarding Jesus’ identity and impact. John tells us that if there’s ever been an expression of God, Jesus is it. John identifies Jesus as God’s definitive Word - the full revelation and manifestation of God. To many, Jesus appeared to be just a man, but to John, Jesus was clearly

Maybe you’ve asked the question, about yourself or someone else, “Why am I the way that I am?… Why is anyone the way that they are?” Research shows that the the answers to these questions can be quite complex, but the short of it is a combination of genetics and conditioning. We are all born with certain predispositions and we are all conditioned into certain behaviors. According the Romans, these factors prove to be true regarding our connection to God. We are all born into sin and fallen in our nature, thanks to the first man, Adam. Try as we might to rehabilitate ourselves, we need more than just religious conditioning. We need to be made new. Jesus promises to undo what Adam did and reverse the curse of sin. His death and resurrection unleashed a brand new reality on the world, and opens the doors for us all to find new life in Him. Our sinful nature can be overcome and we can learn to walk in the newness and power of resurrection life. In this message, we breakdown the gift of salvation and talk ab

The Church reminds us that we have a better belonging and invites us to find a more satisfying life. Deep down all of us long to find a life of true, deeper meaning. None of us want to be forgotten, and are well aware of our world's ability and tendency to wear away and dispose of life. Jesus came to make sure we all can find true and full life. He came alongside everybody in every possible walk of life, including those who were as far from God as one could imagine. In this message, we consider the final person He visited during His earthly ministry, and how that exchange still speaks to us. If you're looking for eternal hope and hoping to ensure that your life makes an eternal impact, Jesus invites you to follow Him. Only in Him can we find our way to God and the way to make our lives count for all eternity.

Romans 5 casts a clear vision for what our life in Christ can look like - Full of God's peace and grace, reconciled and transformed by the promise of Christ. However, the key word in this chapter is "access". In Christ, we have access to a new and better life. The question is, will we take advantage of and activate our resurrection power? Romans 5:12-21 acknowledges the sin of Adam that works against all of us, while also punctuating how Christ came to do an opposite and greater work to save us. In Adam, we are fallen, but in Christ we are raised up anew. In Adam, sin dominates us, but in Christ grace resurrects us. Listen to this message for more about the salvation we have been provided through Christ and learn how we can come to life in Him.

Of all the stumbling blocks put before by the Enemy, guilt may be the most sinister and most toxic. Tragically, it's also something that many of us assume is actually from God. Religion has leveraged guilt for generations, leaving many to feel as if guilt is a curse we'll forever have to bear. Thankfully, this is not so... In this message, we discover that God has been trying to free His people from guilt since the beginning. He has never imposed it, but rather Satan has imprisoned many by guilt. Jesus came to remove our sin and absolve our guilt. If we trust in Him for salvation, we no longer have to bear our shame or regrets. If we make Christ our hiding place, rather than running from God, He will remove our disgrace and empower us with His grace. Guilt will try to keep us from peace and joy, but Christ died and rose again to give us forgiveness and freedom.

Romans 5 is one of the best and most basic descriptions of the Christian Life. In this chapter we learn how faith anchors us in God's peace and grace. With our hearts and minds transformed by these gifts, we gain a new perspective which raises us up to New Life in Christ.

In this special message, we dive deep into the Scriptures looking for clarity and perspective regarding the chaos in our world and how God may be found in its midst. What we discover may surprise you, but will almost certainly offer you peace that is out of this world.

Of all the ways the Enemy seeks to combat our faith in God and faithfulness to His Kingdom, this message addresses his most subtle strategy. This world often causes us to feel infringed and marginalized, and many environments in which we find ourselves cause us to feel out of place, making us want to retreat or even rebel. It turns out, however, that it's in these places that God may very well be sending us and calling us to endure for Him. The Bible is full of charges over the people of God to be mindful of their greater purpose and always see past the Enemy's attempts to discourage and aggravate us, and fill us with apathy. If indeed we have been driven to the margins, then it stands to reason that it's from those margins we have been called to endure and from which the Kingdom of God will emerge. The question is, will we remain determined, motivated and ambitious to serve God no matter where He places us, no matter what we may face?

We all have a certain level of anger within us. Anger lurks in every heart that has ever been wounded... that has ever been taken from, let down, or wronged. Ultimately, anger is the result of a heart that didn't get what it wanted. And isn't it true, we get angry because we don't get our way. We feel like we deserved better, or at least different. While it's tempting to categorize anger as being someone else's fault, anger is our problem to deal with. It may have been triggered by something external, but at the end of the day, anger is inside of US... anger is a poison in OUR hearts. James brings an incredible word to us regarding anger - about where it came from and how we can overcome it. James leads us in admitting that it's ours to own, so that it won't own us and control us. If we will admit why we're angry, then we can embrace and enjoy the solution that only God can provide for it. We cannot wait on someone else to be the solution to our anger, because only Jesus can give us the grace and peace

After spending the opening of Romans dismissing any and all alternative pathway to God, Paul finally focuses in on the true way in Romans 3. In this message, we discuss why righteousness is not something we achieve, but rather a gift we receive by faith. Paul gives us the very basis for our Christian faith, by articulating what our salvation does for us. Listen and learn what it means to be imputed and imparted with righteousness, and how by faith we can begin to live a life that honors God.

Are you more sensitive to this broken world or our Mighty God? Our answer to this question will determine whether or not we are overtaken by fear or emboldened by faith in times of uncertainty and distress. This world is fragile and volatile, and gives us plenty of reasons to be afraid. However, if our God is good and sovereign, then we have a greater reason to have faith. Ephesians 6 teaches us that we can overcome the fiery darts the enemy targets us with. We can stand firm against fear if we are grounded in the Gospel. If our faith is in Jesus and His coming Kingdom, then we will not be shaken and we will continue finding courage to serve Him in every season. We don't have to be frozen by fear. We can remain focused in our faith. We can see God through the fog, if our hope rests in Christ alone.

We are constantly comparing ourselves and being compared to one another. Our world today makes it extremely easy and natural to do this, with social media and society pressure. At the heart of this notion to compare ourselves is jealousy. We may not be jealous of others, but we are jealous of who they are and what they have. Jealousy's power and influence is deceptive, leaving us vulnerable and vindictive. When we give our minds over to jealousy and comparison, we are emptying our hearts of purpose and peace. Solomon describes jealous ambition as causing us to chase after the wind, which causes us to be filled with dissatisfaction. In this message, we hear and heed Solomon's words, and take a sober look at our lives and purpose, and we check the tank on our peace and joy. Our goal is to restore faith in God's plan for us, so that we wouldn't be distracted by His plans for others. We learn that it is possible to escape the comparison traps and secure peace and contentment.

In our last look at the Great Commission, we go beyond our call to witness and talk about what it looks like to be a truly welcoming people. As it turns out, when Jesus called His first disciples, He quickly began teaching them a brand new Kingdom ethic. Jesus emphasized their place in this world as salt and light, stressing that their good works towards others would be as important as their preaching the Good News. Combined with a message about Jesus, if our lives reflect Jesus we can always be on track to fulfill the Great Commission.

CS Lewis wrote, "There is within all of us a curious idea that we ought to behave a certain way, however, we do not in fact behave in that way." Romans 2 confirms that there is indeed this notion within us, which confirms that deep down we all acknowledge God's righteous standard, even if none of us can live up to it. In this chapter, Paul confronts the Jews' appearance of godliness and confirms that even those unreached are still accountable. His goal is to show everyone that there is salvation found in Christ, who can bring actual, authentic change to every believer.

In this edition of our Romans study, we unpack the Mercy and Kindness of God. We discover that God's mercy allows us to walk away from Him, while it also works to call us back. We discuss how it is the kindness of God that works to empower that which sin has weakened, to enable us to find new life. While no excuses are made for our sinful nature, no barriers are in place keeping us from obtaining a new nature. Romans 1 makes it clear that we are all deserving of judgement, but Romans 2 begins revealing the overwhelming kindness of God, that offers us grace instead.

Every single day, we face an enemy who seeks to tear down that which God is building up. He works against all that God works for: Redemption, Preservation, Sanctification. He attempts to leverage our world's fallen nature and God's patience with it, against us so that we might lose our joy and faith. The Apostle Paul details this battle that rages around us, and makes specific note of how Satan seeks to wound our hearts. He aims flaming arrows at us day after day, hoping to set our hearts on fire in all the wrong ways. In the introduction to this series, in which we'll cover many of the fiery darts that the enemy targets us with, we discuss the seeds of doubt that have been planted in the collective heart of the Church. Too many Christians have become overwhelmed with doubt and have lost their confidence in God and His Plans. Listen as we discuss the ramifications of doubt and the depressed state that we easily slip into if we forfeit the confidence and courage available to us. May we swiftly confess our