City Church Tulsa

Luke 15:1-2 Now the tax collectors and sinners were all gathering around to hear Jesus. 2 But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law muttered, “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.” Luke 15:11-32 11 Jesus continued: “There was a man who had two sons. 12 The younger one said to his father, ‘Father, give me my share of the estate.’ So he divided his property between them. 13 “Not long after that, the younger son got together all he had, set off for a distant country and there squandered his wealth in wild living. 14 After he had spent everything, there was a severe famine in that whole country, and he began to be in need. 15 So he went and hired himself out to a citizen of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed pigs. 16 He longed to fill his stomach with the pods that the pigs were eating, but no one gave him anything. 17 “When he came to his senses, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have food to spare, and here I am starving to death!18 I will set out and go back to my fa

The Imago Dei (Image Bearer of God) Jan 1, 2023 Genesis 1:26-28 Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.” 27So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them. 28God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.” Psalm 17:15 As for me,” he wrote, “I will see Your face in righteousness; I shall be satisfied when I awake in Your likeness.” Colossians 1:13-16 For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, 14in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. The Supremacy of the Son of God 15The Son is the image of the invisible God, the

LONGING Longing for love in the midst of hatred 12.18.22 Tweet screenshot 1 Corinthians 13:1-8 If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. 2 If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. 3 If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing. 4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. 8 Love never fails. Current interpretation: If I am knowledgeable of political insights and current affairs, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or clanging cymbal. If I ha

Advent: Joy “These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.” John 15:11 ESV Joy is not a requirement of Christian discipleship, it is a consequence. It is not what we have to acquire in order to experience life in Christ; it is what comes to us when we are walking in the way of faith and obedience. Eugene Peterson “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and

LONGING – ADVENT Longing for Peace in the Midst of Chaos 12.4.22 N.T. Wright If we remove Advent, that is attentively waiting for Jesus' birth, from the Bible, we lose half the OT and most of the NT, including the stories of Jesus' ancestors, the words of the prophets, and the mystery of the incarnation. The restlessness in our souls is a continual reminder we are not home yet. Trevor Hudson There is a part of us that is forever restless, dissatisfied, frustrated, and aching. There is an unquenchable fire, a restlessness, a longing, a disquiet, a hunger, a loneliness, a gnawing nostalgia, a wildness that cannot be contained, an ache that lies at the center of human experience. Isaiah 9:2-7 The people walking in darkness have seen a great light;on those living in the land of deep darkness a light has dawned.3 You have enlarged the nation and increased their joy;they rejoice before you as people rejoice at the harvest,as warriors rejoice when dividing the plunder.4 For as in the day of M

What is Advent? Formed from a Latin word meaning “coming” or “arrival”. Advent is the traditional celebration of the first advent of Jesus (the Christmas story) and the anxious awaiting of His second advent in glory. “The year opens with Advent, the season that teaches us to wait for what is beyond the obvious. It trains us to see what is behind the apparent. Advent makes us look for God in all those places we have, until now, ignored.” Joan Chittister Hope as we see in scripture is the confident expectation of coming good based on the person and promises of God, and it's strength is in HIS faithfulness to see it through to the end. "Hope is not about the future, hope is about the present. It obviously has to do with the future, but it is a virtue which is cultivated in the present. It fills the present with energy, it connects the two comings of Jesus so that we are now a participant in them. We are not just remembering the one and believing in the other, we are participating in the continuity o

Breakthrough Sunday 11.20.22 There is a precedent in the life of Jesus of the miraculous and supernatural following a bold step of faith. Luke 8:42-48 As Jesus was on his way, the crowds almost crushed him. 43 And a woman was there who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years, but no one could heal her. 44 She came up behind him and touched the edge of his cloak, and immediately her bleeding stopped. 45 “Who touched me?” Jesus asked. When they all denied it, Peter said, “Master, the people are crowding and pressing against you.” 46 But Jesus said, “Someone touched me; I know that power has gone out from me.” 47 Then the woman, seeing that she could not go unnoticed, came trembling and fell at his feet. In the presence of all the people, she told why she had touched him and how she had been instantly healed. 48 Then he said to her, “Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace.” In Luke 8, a desperate situation and a bold act of faith collide with Jesus. There is a mystery around how and when Go

Orphan Sunday Nov. 6th, 2022 Jim Moss Exodus 22:22 “You must not exploit a widow or an orphan. Deuteronomy 10:17-18 “For the Lord your God is the God of gods and Lord of lords. He is the great God, the mighty and awesome God, who shows no partiality and cannot be bribed. 18He ensures that orphans and widows receive justice. He shows love to the foreigners living among you and gives them food and clothing. Psalm 68:5-6 Father to the fatherless, defender of widows— this is God, whose dwelling is holy. 6God places the lonely in families; he sets the prisoners free and gives them joy. Isaiah 1:17 Learn to do good. Seek justice. Help the oppressed. Defend the cause of orphans. Fight for the rights of widows. James 1:27 Pure and genuine religion in the sight of God the Father means caring for orphans and widows in their distress and refusing to let the world corrupt you. Ruth 1:16-17 But Ruth replied, “Don’t ask me to leave you and turn back. Wherever you go, I will go; wherever you live, I will live. Your pe

Talk Notes Sacredness of the Mundane One of the greatest lies of the enemy is trying to get you to believe that your ordinary, everyday faithfulness and obedience are not enough to bring about significant kingdom impact. "It is pure invention that the Pope, bishops, priests, and monks are called the "spiritual estate" while princes, lords, artisans, and farmers are called the "temporal estate". This is indeed a piece of deceit and hypocrisy. Yet no one need be intimidated by it, and that for this reason: all Christians are truly of the spiritual estate, and there is no difference among them except that of office... We are all consecrated priest by baptisms as St Peter says: "You are a chosen people, a royal priesthood.” Martin Luther 27 So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them. 28 God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds

A BETTER STORY Kingdom Multiplication 10.23.22 Our Story: God has redeemed us, and all of creation, to bring Him glory and to bring His Kingdom to earth. One of the greatest lies of the enemy is trying to get you to believe that your ordinary, everyday faithfulness and obedience are not enough to bring about significant kingdom impact. Matthew 13:8 Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop—a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown. Matthew 13:23 But the seed falling on good soil refers to someone who hears the word and understands it. This is the one who produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown. Matthew 13:31-33 31 He told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his field. 32 Though it is the smallest of all seeds, yet when it grows, it is the largest of garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds come and perch in its branches.” 33 He told them still another parable: “The k

It Takes a Village - Bodie Sanders 10-16-22 Recognition is the primary task of infancy. Feeding, crying, and even sleeping are just the support system for this most essential work of figuring out who we are, and where we are, by making contact with people, seeing them seeing us, gradually beginning to build our sense of self through their eyes! The Life We Long For: Andy Crouch “But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like. But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing.” James 1:22-25 ESV “Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and ov

A Comeback Story 10-9-22 Acts 7:23-29 23“One day when Moses was forty years old, he decided to visit his relatives, the people of Israel. 24He saw an Egyptian mistreating an Israelite. So Moses came to the man’s defense and avenged him, killing the Egyptian. 25Moses assumed his fellow Israelites would realize that God had sent him to rescue them, but they didn’t. 26“The next day he visited them again and saw two men of Israel fighting. He tried to be a peacemaker. ‘Men,’ he said, ‘you are brothers. Why are you fighting each other?’ 27“But the man in the wrong pushed Moses aside. ‘Who made you a ruler and judge over us?’ he asked. 28‘Are you going to kill me as you killed that Egyptian yesterday?’ 29When Moses heard that, he fled the country and lived as a foreigner in the land of Midian. There his two sons were born. Acts 7:30 30“Forty years later, in the desert near Mount Sinai, an angel appeared to Moses in the flame of a burning bush. Exodus 3:1-2 1One day Moses was tending the flock of his father-in-l

A BETTER STORY The Stewardship Principle 10.2.22 Money can buy a house............but not a home
Money can buy a bed..............but not sleep
Money can buy a clock............but not time
Money can buy you a book.........but not knowledge
Money can buy you medicine.......but not health
Money can buy you sex............but not love Money can buy a vacation…..but not rest Money gives us the illusion that more is better Generosity: When you are fully aware of what you have been freely given so you choose to freely give   Extravagant Generosity: When you become so overcome by the grace and undeserved love of the Father that you lavishly reorient your life around giving and Kingdom impact Stewardship: An understanding that God is the owner, we are the managers, and we are accountable to the owner. Luke 16:1-7 Jesus told his disciples: “There was a rich man whose manager was accused of wasting his possessions. 2 So he called him in and asked him, ‘What is this I hear about you? Give an account of your manag

A BETTER STORY Gospel-Centered Parenting 9.19.22 Mark 7:1-8 The Pharisees and some of the teachers of the law who had come from Jerusalem gathered around Jesus 2 and saw some of his disciples eating food with hands that were defiled, that is, unwashed. 3 (The Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat unless they give their hands a ceremonial washing, holding to the tradition of the elders. 4 When they come from the marketplace they do not eat unless they wash. And they observe many other traditions, such as the washing of cups, pitchers and kettles.) 5 So the Pharisees and teachers of the law asked Jesus, “Why don’t your disciples live according to the tradition of the elders instead of eating their food with defiled hands?” 6 He replied, “Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you hypocrites; as it is written: “‘These people honor me with their lips,
    but their hearts are far from me.
7 They worship me in vain;
    their teachings are merely human rules.’ 8 You have let go of the commands of God and are h

The Slow Work of God Mark 1:14-15 14 After John was put in prison, Jesus went into Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God. 15 “The time has come,” he said. “The kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news!” “This impotence of “systems” is a main reason why Jesus did not send his students out to start governments or even churches as we know them today, which always strongly convey some elements of a human system. They were, instead, to establish beachheads of his person, word, and power in the midst of a failing and futile humanity. They were to bring the presence of the kingdom and its King into every corner of human life simply by fully living in the kingdom with him.”  Dallas Willard 31 He told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his field. 32 Though it is the smallest of all seeds, yet when it grows, it is the largest of garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds come and perch in its branches.” 33 He tol

A BETTER STORY Living a Better Story 9.11.22 Alisdair MacIntyre Before we can answer the question, “Who am I and what am I to do” we must first ask the question, “What story or stories am I a part of?” James Bryan Smith We need a story that makes us quiver, not with fear but with delight. We need a story so big that we will never be able to grasp it, so vast that it can handle the darkness of evil and suffering, so immense that it can make sense of cancer and terrorism and death. To live a life of kingdom impact, we need a story that is bigger than ourselves. We need a story that is so good and big and full of hope that it answers every fear and reconciles every problem. We need a story that is motivated by love, not shame or regret. The story you believe will determine how you live. Matthew 16:13-15 When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?” They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremi

Colossians 3:12-17 (ESV) 12 Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, 13 bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. 14 And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. 15 And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful. 16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. 17 And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. 1.) Am I compassionate and kind? “It is the most often needed, for the sea of sorrow stretches so widely that nothing less than a universal compassion can arch it over as with the blue of heaven. Every

COLOSSIANS Reimagining a resurrected life 8.28.22 Colossians 3:1-4 Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. 2 Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. 3 For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. 4 When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory. Christ has already defeated the powers of darkness, but his reconciling rule has not yet been fully established in history N.T. Wright There is a perfect balance here (in Colossians 3) between the ‘already’ and the ‘not yet’ that are so characteristic of Paul’s teaching on the Christian life. The new age has dawned, and Christians already belong to it. The old age, however, is not yet wound up, and until they die (or until the Lord ‘appears’ again in his second coming) their new life will be a secret truth, ‘hidden’ from view. The church is called to believe and embody the kingdom of heaven (things above)

COLOSSIANS Re-imagining a faithful life 8.21.22 The Colossian heresy seemed to blend modern-day mysticism, local Judaism, and Christianity. Colossians 2:1-7 I want you to know how hard I (Paul) am contending for you and for those at Laodicea, and for all who have not met me personally. 2 My goal is that they may be encouraged in heart and united in love, so that they may have the full riches of complete understanding, in order that they may know the mystery of God, namely, Christ, 3 in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. 4 I tell you this so that no one may deceive you by fine-sounding arguments. 5 For though I am absent from you in body, I am present with you in spirit and delight to see how disciplined you are and how firm your faith in Christ is. 6 So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in him, 7 rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness. Colossians 2:8 8 See to it that no

Colossians 1:24-29 Reimagining a Sacrificial Life August 14th Colossians 1:24 I am glad when I suffer for you in my body, for I am participating in the sufferings of Christ that continue for his body, the church. Colossians 1:25-29 25I have become its servant by the commission God gave me to present to you the word of God in its fullness— 26the mystery that has been kept hidden for ages and generations, but is now disclosed to the Lord’s people. 27To them God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. 28He is the one we proclaim, admonishing and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone fully mature in Christ. 29To this end I strenuously contend with all the energy Christ so powerfully works in me. 2 Corinthians 11 23Are they servants of Christ? (I am out of my mind to talk like this.) I am more. I have worked much harder, been in prison more frequently, been flogged more severely, and been exposed t