Verve City Church: Weekly Messages

This week:Anxiety lies to us. It's a schoolyard bully taking advantage of our vulnerabilities. It can feel like an unstoppable force. But in the greatest sermon ever, Jesus taught us to confront the lies of anxiety with the truth of God's goodness.Series overview:You can’t understand how good Michael Jordan was if you’ve never watched a video of him playing. You can’t comprehend the commanding stage presence of Taylor Swift if you’ve never sat in the crowd. You can’t appreciate the world-shaking message of Jesus if you’ve never studied his most audacious sermon.Once upon a time, a Jewish rabbi stood on the side of a mountain, projected his voice to a multitude of people gathered beneath him, and delivered a sermon that changed the course of human history. In one brief sermon, Jesus taught about subjects as wide-ranging as prayer, justice, care for the needy, handling the religious law, fasting, judging other people, salvation, and much more. If we believe Jesus was inviting people into the best life possible, it’s worth studying the way he described how that life should look.

This week:Christians all over the world are taught that prayer is important. Even people who don’t consider themselves to be affiliated with a particular religious tradition sometimes find themselves praying in the midst of heartache. Does prayer “work?” And if it does, what does it accomplish? And if it accomplishes anything, how do we actually pray?Series overview:You can’t understand how good Michael Jordan was if you’ve never watched a video of him playing. You can’t comprehend the commanding stage presence of Taylor Swift if you’ve never sat in the crowd. You can’t appreciate the world-shaking message of Jesus if you’ve never studied his most audacious sermon.Once upon a time, a Jewish rabbi stood on the side of a mountain, projected his voice to a multitude of people gathered beneath him, and delivered a sermon that changed the course of human history. In one brief sermon, Jesus taught about subjects as wide-ranging as prayer, justice, care for the needy, handling the religious law, fasting, judging other people, salvation, and much more. If we believe Jesus was inviting people into the best life possible, it’s worth studying the way he described how that life should look.

Our church has always existed to help people find life by following Jesus, and that remains our mission today. We believe God goes where God is wanted, and we deeply and prayerfully desire to be a vibrant, passionate faith community in which more people will find their lives transformed by Jesus in the years ahead. In this special message, Lead Pastor Josh Crain shares vision for the next five years, along with a couple of exiting changes on the horizon.

This week:Making snap judgments is human nature, right? Judgments keep us safe and help us organize our world into all sorts of helpful categories... But what's the difference between judging critically and judging harshly? How can we avoid letting our moral standards become a trap of hypocrisy? Jesus modeled how we can find fulfillment by living with humility and gentleness.Series overview:You can’t understand how good Michael Jordan was if you’ve never watched a video of him playing. You can’t comprehend the commanding stage presence of Taylor Swift if you’ve never sat in the crowd. You can’t appreciate the world-shaking message of Jesus if you’ve never studied his most audacious sermon.Once upon a time, a Jewish rabbi stood on the side of a mountain, projected his voice to a multitude of people gathered beneath him, and delivered a sermon that changed the course of human history. In one brief sermon, Jesus taught about subjects as wide-ranging as prayer, justice, care for the needy, handling the religious law, fasting, judging other people, salvation, and much more. If we believe Jesus was inviting people into the best life possible, it’s worth studying the way he described how that life should look.

This week:When someone hurts us, our impulse is to get them back. We want to get even because even feels fair. But it doesn’t end up feeling good. In fact, it doesn’t end at all. We get sucked into a never-ending cycle of retaliation. Jesus did His best to give grace to those who treated Him the worst. What made Him think this counter-intuitive strategy would make a difference? And why did He insist His followers do the same?Series overview:It’s impossible to understand how good Michael Jordan was if you’ve never watched a video of him playing. You can’t comprehend the commanding stage presence of Taylor Swift if you’ve never sat in the crowd. You can’t appreciate the world-shaking message of Jesus if you’ve never studied his most audacious sermon. In one brief message, projected to a great multitude of people gathered on a mountain side Jesus taught about subjects as wide-ranging as prayer, justice, care for the needy, judging other people, salvation, and much more. His words that day were so surprising and so powerful, they altered the trajectory of human history. If we believe Jesus was inviting people into the best life possible, it’s worth an in-depth look into the life he invited us to live.

This week:In the beatitudes, Jesus taught that the people who are often at the bottom of society are actually blessed beyond their wildest imaginations. The world has struggled to believe him ever since. How might grasping the beginning theme of his sermon on the mount change the way we see God, ourselves, and the world around us?Series overview:You can’t understand how good Michael Jordan was if you’ve never watched a video of him playing. You can’t comprehend the commanding stage presence of Taylor Swift if you’ve never sat in the crowd. You can’t appreciate the world-shaking message of Jesus if you’ve never studied his most audacious sermon.Once upon a time, a Jewish rabbi stood on the side of a mountain, projected his voice to a multitude of people gathered beneath him, and delivered a sermon that changed the course of human history. In one brief sermon, Jesus taught about subjects as wide-ranging as prayer, justice, care for the needy, handling the religious law, fasting, judging other people, salvation, and much more. If we believe Jesus was inviting people into the best life possible, it’s worth studying the way he described how that life should look.

This week:Genius violates the status quo; it challenges deeply held beliefs and values. Genius is original; it sees the world from a perspective that didn’t exist before. Genius is transformative; it leaves its mark and divides the world into “before” and “after.” Genius is transformative, but it’s not typically transferable. Jesus was a genius. But perhaps the defining, world-shaking characteristic of his genius is that it’s contagious.Series overview:You can’t understand how good Michael Jordan was if you’ve never watched a video of him playing. You can’t comprehend the commanding stage presence of Taylor Swift if you’ve never sat in the crowd. You can’t appreciate the world-shaking message of Jesus if you’ve never studied his most audacious sermon.Once upon a time, a Jewish rabbi stood on the side of a mountain, projected his voice to a multitude of people gathered beneath him, and delivered a sermon that changed the course of human history. In one brief sermon, Jesus taught about subjects as wide-ranging as prayer, justice, care for the needy, handling the religious law, fasting, judging other people, salvation, and much more. If we believe Jesus was inviting people into the best life possible, it’s worth studying the way he described how that life should look.

This week: How Christians Can Shape CultureWe can condemn culture, we can critique culture, we can copy culture, and we can consume culture. But none of that changes it. The only way to shape culture is to create culture. Jesus did it. The early church did. We can do it, too.Series overview:Are you interested in learning more about the kind of life Jesus invited us into? Do the teachings of Jesus feel like they get drowned out or confused by all the groups, influencers, politicians, and churches that claim him as their spokesperson? Join us for an immensely practical series exploring the way of Jesus. We’ll discover it’s both counter to the secular culture we live in, and counter to the religious culture many of us are familiar with.

This week: How to Make Peace in an Anger CultureWe see it in airplanes, at ballgames, in social media feeds, and on political talkshows: people are angry. Increasingly, our culture is fed a steady diet of fear and outrage and we feel justified when we lash out at others. Jesus called his followers to be peacemakers. How can we shape the culture more than the culture shapes us?Series overview:Are you interested in learning more about the kind of life Jesus invited us into? Do the teachings of Jesus feel like they get drowned out or confused by all the groups, influencers, politicians, and churches that claim him as their spokesperson? Join us for an immensely practical series exploring the way of Jesus. We’ll discover it’s both counter to the secular culture we live in, and counter to the religious culture many of us are familiar with.

This week: How Nationalism Warps FaithAlmost every nation that has ever existed believed God, or the gods, was on their side. Powerful kings, queens, dictators, and politicians have consistently shown a knack for tapping into religious fervor in order to further a political agenda. How has nationalistic fervor warped the faith of Christians who came before us? And how can we keep it from happening again? Series overview:Are you interested in learning more about the kind of life Jesus invited us into? Do the teachings of Jesus feel like they get drowned out or confused by all the groups, influencers, politicians, and churches that claim him as their spokesperson? Join us for an immensely practical series exploring the way of Jesus. We’ll discover it’s both counter to the secular culture we live in, and counter to the religious culture many of us are familiar with.