Rise City Church Podcast

Most of us want to be used by God, but have we actually positioned ourselves to be usable? In this Team Night message, special guest, Phil Comer, walks our church through 10 things to remember if we want to be used by God. Listen in, and have your heart and passion for ministry stoked as Phil walks our team through a unique night of equipping, growth, and pressing into the mission of the church.

In a technology-driven world that runs on non-stop work, the Scriptures offer an ancient and counter-cultural idea: Sabbath rest. Sabbath is the Hebrew word meaning “to stop” and carries the connotation of delighting in the finished work. For people in a world of overwork and exhaustion, the Scriptures invite us into a weekly rhythm of rest. The deep longing of our hearts is to experience true and perfect peace—a peace that's found in Jesus alone, and one we live out on purpose through Sabbath. Listen to this message to learn more.

Does life feel like running a marathon? You're running and running, but never stop to rest? Is your soul tired and weak from never getting the nourishment from pausing, reflecting, and breathing? Jesus walked the perfect life. He ran hard after people that needed healing, redemption, and a peace that only He offered. But after He ministered, He rested, but not like we understand rest. Join in this week as Pastor Jason talks us through the Gospels to show us the rhythm of Jesus' life and ministry, and the one thing He always made time for.

How often do you feel busy, overworked, or overwhelmed? Is your life marked more by stillness, focus, and peace, or rush, exhaustion, and distraction? We live in an age of hurry-sickness; a world where interruption, workaholism, and irritation are the norm. But what if there were another way? To those feeling burned out and anxious Jesus offers the gentle rhythms of grace. Jesus calls us to what he calls His “easy yoke”. In this message, Pastor Jason invites us into the slow walk of discipleship to Jesus. Listen in to learn more.

Many people think of Bible reading as a task. In reality, it’s anything but that! Scripture offers something nothing else in the world provides. You are designed with a profound longing that nothing can truly satisfy apart from God in Christ. The Bible is the singular location that fully, accurately, and exclusively exposes Jesus. What can satisfy the deep longings of the human heart? Where does real change come from? The power of Scripture alone. In this message, Pastor Nolan walks through one of the most exalted texts on Jesus in all of Scripture and explains these ideas.

Are you trying to get to know God better, but don't know how? Have you wondered how to grow closer to God through Scripture? How do you learn through Scripture if you don't understand it? No matter where you are in your spiritual walk there are steps you can take to help you comprehend the Word and get to know God more deeply. This week, Scott teaches us how to examine the Word thoroughly, not just for the sake of knowledge, but because the God of all Creation is ready to meet us there if we will simply take the time and spend it with Him.

Everyone longs for deep inward formation, but what is God’s means for shaping us? God’s Word is the most powerful tool for our discipleship and nearness to Jesus. However many people feel at loss for how to read the Bible. In this teaching, Pastor Jason not only casts an inspiring “why” for reading the Bible, but equips us with highly practical tools for HOW to read the Bible.

From the self-help section to life coaches, from salons to gyms, from education to the corporate ladder: we are seeking to make ourselves capable, beautiful, healthy, competent, complete. But where does this longing come from? Deep down, God has designed us with a yearning for a process of deeper spiritual maturity that only discipleship to Jesus will satisfy. Following Jesus means embarking on a journey of spiritual formation that will change you from the inside out. Listen in as Pastor Jason walks us through the meaning of discipleship.

Each year billions of people gather to celebrate Easter, the day that the tomb was found empty over 2000 years ago. But why? Resurrection Sunday is the day that all of the Christian faith boils down to. It's the culmination of every scripture, the hope in the face of death, it brings deeper meaning to life, and provides proof that Jesus is King — alive and well, reigning on His throne. Listen in as Pastor Jason walks us through John 20 to address skepticism, doubt, and the hope that your heart is searching for, and can only be found in the Resurrected Jesus.

There’s nothing more compelling than an authentic life! We’ve talked about winning this city to Jesus, but how can we do so if we don’t personally follow Him? Hypocrisy repels, but authenticity draws us in. So what does it look like, as a Christian, to be the real thing? In Philippians 3:17-4:1, we find what it means to be a sincere follower that draws people to Jesus by example. Listen in as Pastor Nolan walks through the text.

What the Israelites experienced in Babylon thousands of years ago isn't so much unlike how Christians feel in the western world today. The foundational beliefs, the traditions, and the influence of the Church meant nothing to the place they now lived in. The dominant culture didn't share the values and beliefs of the people who followed God, but how God asked them to live in that culture is likely very different than you'd imagine. God told the Israelites to plant deep roots, be invested in the community, and build families right where they were. This is just as true for us today as it was then. Listen in as Pastor Jason teaches through Jeremiah 29 to hear how God is calling us to bless the people around us and build purposeful relationships with non-Christians, because God's plan for building His kingdom is bigger than we can understand.

Christians are called to be missionaries to their cities. That means reaching neighbors, family, and coworkers with the good news of the Gospel. But, it's one thing to talk about being on mission, it's another thing to THINK like a missionary. Do you look at your city through the lens of the Gospel? Are you equipped for missionary work here? In this message, Pastor Jason teaches more academically as to how to think like a missionary from Acts 17. This is a key passage exploring how Paul engaged a lost and pagan culture. Our context isn't that different. Listen to this message to learn more.

What have you stopped praying for? Some of us quit believing God could make a difference years ago. But in the Scriptures, we find a church that prays with power despite trials and opposition. How do we pray with power? And how do we keep praying when things don’t go as planned? In Acts 4:18-31, we explore what it looks like to pray with expectation. This is a passage that has the potential to re-ignite your prayer life by learning how to pray more biblically.

Do you find yourself hearing the word missionary and thinking about faraway lands? What if God's means for advancing His mission is through you? What if you saw your city as the ends of the earth — the very mission field God is calling you to? This week we learn that every circumstance is an opportunity for relationship and every relationship and opportunity for the Gospel. Join us as Pastor Jason leads us through Acts 16 to reorient our minds around four ways the Gospel needs to be lived out in our city, and how to see our lives through the eyes of a missionary.

After Jesus’ death and resurrection, the Kingdom of God has been advancing from that time in Jerusalem to our city today. Last Sunday marked 8 years of our church rising to join in that mission. Rise exists to rise up and saturate our city with the Gospel. God is on a mission and you are a part of it. But what does it look like for us? In this message on our 8 year anniversary as a church, Pastor Jason explores 1 Corinthians 1 and what it means to advance the Gospel. He shares the story of what we've done and how we’ll move out on Jesus’ mission into the future. Listen to this message to discover what it means to experience the Gospel and participate in the mission of the Gospel in our city.

Do you understand that you are wired by God and that He has a plan for your life that is good and pleasing? All the meaningful things of this age are actually pointing you to the deep hunger you have for a life filled with purpose. How do you find your calling and purpose? How does your wiring rely on connection with other people? This week, Pastor Jason opens Romans 12 to answer these questions, and walk you through a Biblical view of your purpose, calling, and wiring that leads to a life that gives God glory and seeks others' good. Join us for the last week of Wired.

In a world that’s more and more isolated, the Bible comes in and confronts our self-centeredness and calls us to know and serve people. But what does that look like? In Romans 15 the apostle Paul fleshes this concept out in a letter addressing both what Gospel relationships look like as well as how he can strategically reach the lost. In this message Pastor Nolan walks us through this passage and demonstrates how we can grow in Gospel relationships.

What is your story? Are there things you regret? Painful moments? Times you wish things would've looked differently? This week, Zach opens up Ephesians 2 and helps us to examine our stories, so that we can see how God has used every moment to make us who we are today. We are called to not only accept our story but use it — and everything that comes with it, because God doesn't waste any of it. He uses every moment to paint a picture of His grace and sovereignty. Listen in to learn how to work through your unique story and use it for God's glory.

Bonus episode: 5 Big Goals for 2022. Listen in as we talk through how we can make disciples of those we are connecting with by focusing on these five goals over this next year of ministry at Rise City Church.

People all over the US are moving to places that feel safer, kinder, and less mandated. Are you living in a place that doesn't seem to fit your morals and beliefs? As a Christian, how do you call someplace home that doesn't uphold your philosophies and way of life? What if God called you to see yourself as made for an eternal home in Heaven, and a calling to the mission here on Earth? What if you saw yourself as a missionary to the very city you live in? Pastor Jason walks us through four lenses that shift our thinking about why we live where we do, and how we are called to this place, at this time.