Public Church

Often, we know what we need to do, yet we don’t do it. At other times, we are worn down and feel like giving up. What kind of solution does following Jesus offer for both those situations? It’s not try harder and dig deeper; rather, the author of Hebrews 12 invites us to become enthralled by Jesus. When we look at him and don’t look away, we find the inspiration and power to do what’s right and endure. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/apublicchurch/message

At times a specific moment is emphasized at the expense of all others. Maybe you grew up in a tradition that highlighted your initial decision to repent and follow Jesus but then left you wondering, “Now what?” or “Is that all there is?” Today, we continue our discussion in Hebrews 11 with the story of Abraham that helps us see that he is not the God of a moment, but the God of the moments. He wants to lead us to trust him in every situation of our lives. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/apublicchurch/message

Often we know the right thing to do, yet we choose not to do it. One of the many reasons is that we yield to external pressures rather than the internal voice of the Holy Spirit, or if you don't follow Jesus, what you may call your conscience. When we let the external pressures win, that typically leads to regret. To provide a path forward, we dive into the stories of Moses and Rahab to see how we too can listen to the Holy Spirit despite the outside voices. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/apublicchurch/message

Faith is a commonly used word, what does it actually mean? The author of Hebrews gives us stories of faith to illustrate what it looks like. In this talk, we dive into two stories that can have a tangible impact on how we think about and grow our faith. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/apublicchurch/message

Louie Giglio says, “We can be the star of our own story, or embrace any role in his never-ending story.” In order to properly consider this offer, we need to know the never-ending story he invites us into. That’s why we are discussing the overarching story of the Bible as we kick-off our new series. We are left with this question: what will we choose? --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/apublicchurch/message

Why does Easter matter? Easter is for all the ways we can’t stop ourselves from undermining ourselves. Almost all of us have bad habits and / or destructive behaviors that we can’t seem to shake, but the Easter story gives hope to our story while we are in the midst of our struggle. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/apublicchurch/message

Dr. Coats, a history professor from Lee University, invites us to think about Jesus, his death, and resurrection historically, academically, and critically. If you don’t follow Jesus, we hope this conversation inspires you to further investigate Jesus and take a step towards him. If you follow Jesus, we hope today strengthens your faith and empowers you to think about following through a historical lens. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/apublicchurch/message

Stories are so powerful! The evidence is a book or movie from childhood that has stuck with you or the show that you can’t wait to finish. Stories grab our attention and communicate in a way that a list of facts simply cannot. Jesus harnessed the power of the story, and Matthew 13 is a collection of stories that he used to paint pictures of the Kingdom of God. As we dive into the parable of the mustard seed, Jesus provides insights into his kingdom, and what he communicates through this story will change our everyday lives, if we open ourselves up. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/apublicchurch/message

There is something powerful and life-giving about bringing your questions and thoughts to discuss the words of Jesus with others. We offer Community Groups as environments to do this every week, and today, we are modeling a community group on stage. Our panel is diving into Matthew 9-12 just like they do at Community Group, and if you are interested in Community Groups, please visit our website publicchurch.com, click on the + sign in the bottom right hand corner, and select “Join a Community Group”. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/apublicchurch/message

It’s easy for us to compartmentalize Jesus, and we can put “being a Christian” in a box and step out of the box for the other parts of our lives. However, Jesus is the King who invades all of our lives. In Matthew 5-7, which functions as an inaugural address for the Kingdom of Heaven, Jesus shows us what it looks like to get rid of the box. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/apublicchurch/message

No matter what comes to our mind when we think of a king, we are pretty much guaranteed that isn’t what Jesus had in mind when he stepped into history as the King. Jesus thwarted the expectations of those living in the first century, and he does the same for us living in the twenty-first century. How will we respond when this happens? Are we ready for the King? --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/apublicchurch/message

Todd starts the talk by sharing that his soul is fragile and gives the context of his parent’s health struggle that Whitney and he have been walking through with his parents. Then we see that God cares about our soul as we anchor in some life-giving Scripture that points us towards a path for growing more healthy in our souls. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/apublicchurch/message

We all feel it. What adds pressure, stress and anxiety to you life? So what do you do with it? It is what we do with the pressure we face that crushes us and hurts those around us or keeps us moving through the world in the way we were created to be.  Join us as we explore the heart Jesus has for us when it comes to pressures we feel in our lives! --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/apublicchurch/message

Many of us have a tendency to take people and things for granted, and this bleeds over it our faith. As we end our series diving into the crucifixion and the resurrection, we could easily think this is a talk for someone else. However, we can never mine the depths of the cross and the empty tomb. May we be blown away by Jesus’ sacrifice and victory. As we see his claims to be God, may we take the series question one step further and wrestle with whether or not Jesus is MY God. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/apublicchurch/message

Jesus begins John 14 by saying, “Let not your heart be troubled,” but what do we do when our heart is troubled? The Message paraphrase says, “Don’t let this throw you,” but what about the times we’ve already been thrown on the floor? We wrestle with these questions as we are granted behind the scenes access to a dinner conversation with Jesus and his disciples where he comforts and challenges them and us. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/apublicchurch/message

What assumptions do you have about God? How do you respond when Jesus does or says something that doesn’t fit into your box of who God is? To explore Jesus’ divinity, we must also examine our definition of God. One of the most scandalous aspects of Jesus is that he was redefining God to his original audience, and if we let him, he will do that today for us. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/apublicchurch/message

In our culture, it’s easy for us to magnify others’ sins while ignoring our own. However, that is not that way of Jesus, especially as he demonstrates in a tension-filled, life-changing scene in John 8:1-11. Dr. Fijoy Johnson challenges us to let Jesus set us free from shame as leads us to dive into this story. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/apublicchurch/message

As we start a new series, we invite you to wrestle with the question, “Is Jesus really God?” In The Problem with Jesus, Mark Clark says, “The question of Christ’s divinity may be the ultimate scandal of the Christian faith.” In other words, this question is significant for all of us, whether or not we follow Jesus, so I hope you will join us for this journey. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/apublicchurch/message

Why is it so difficult for us to ask for help? It’s also easy for us to pursue low hanging fruit that can harm us in the long-run. Matt Moore addresses both of these today as he challenges us from God’s Word. Matt is part of our Public Church family and currently serves as the Fellowship of Christian Athletes’ Ocoee Region Area Director. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/apublicchurch/message

When it comes to fasting, many of us don’t know exactly what it is or why we should do it. Rob Fultz, the Campus Pastor at Lee University, starts by debunking some commonly held myths about fasting, and then he dives into the Biblical narrative to show three essential, and often overlapping, reasons why we fast. As we begin our 21-Day Collective Fast (January 9 -29), this talk sets the tone for our journey. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/apublicchurch/message