Citylight Lincoln Church Podcast

In our next sermon in the "Knowing God" series, we look at God as a chooser! In our reading from Deuteronomy, God makes it clear that His love doesn't come because we earn it, it isn't random, and He doesn't love out of obligation. We find that God chooses to love us because He is love itself!

For the next sermon of our Knowing God series, Skyler preaches on God as a judge. We read out of the book of Amos and see that God has set a standard that He will measure all people against. What this means for the church, though, is that we no longer have to fear the judgment of God; rather, we are inspired to share the Gospel with those who have not trusted in Christ!

This week we kick off our series exploring the Trinity: Knowing God! For the first sermon of the series, we are looking at God the Father as a Creator. We see this characteristic of God from the first words of the Bible in Genesis 1 and as Austin points out, what God creates, communicates who He is!

For our 6th birthday celebration, we take a moment to reflect on the glory of Jesus through our little story here in Lincoln. We remember the good things God has done in our local church and the hard seasons He has walked with us through in the last six years. We also look to the story of Moses and the burning bush, where Moses objects to God's calling and how the Lord responds to our objections.

For this week's sermon covering our mission statement, the founder of the Salt Company Troy Nesbitt, preaches about the importance of church planting. Starting new local churches is written into the DNA of Jesus' mission to the apostles. It is also one of the most significant ways in which the Gospel is spread to new places and sustains the health of the Body of Christ.

In the second sermon covering our mission statement, Austin preaches on the importance of disciple-making as pointed out in Matthew 4. Discipleship is the call of every single Christian no matter how long they have been following Jesus.

In our first sermon of 2023, Pastor Jeff preaches over Psalm 34. The Psalms are a beautiful collection of songs and poems that reveal both the heart of the author towards God but also God's heart for us. In the midst of one of King David's most challenging trials, he proclaims and calls us to worship God by deeply rooting ourselves in His glory.

Join us for our 2022 Christmas Eve gathering! We celebrate the coming of the savior of the world as a church family while Austin preaches over Luke 2. In the sermon, Austin highlights how after 400 years of silence, God's presence returns to the people. But unlike in the past, God's presence is in the form of the incarnate Jesus and is initially revealed not to the spiritual elite but to a teen mom and some lowly shepherds.

This morning Skyler kicks off our brief Advent series! We start by reading out of Luke 1, verses 30-33, in which the angel Gabriel tells a young woman named Mary that she will conceive a child by the Holy Spirit who will be the savior of the world. Skyler will show us multiple points in Israel's history that pointed to this moment and truly how monumental it was.

In our last week in the book James, Austin preaches through the last eight verses of James 5. In the passage this week, James talks about the importance of confessing our sins to others and also the critical importance of prayer! We are called to pray for one another not only to be healed but also to plead with God on their behalf!

This week Bob Walz preaches over our next section in the Book of James, chapter 5, verses 7 through 12. In the reading for this week, James calls the scattered church to remain patient, patient amid suffering, patient with their brothers and sisters in Christ, and patient for the return of Jesus to end the suffering of His people. James tells us to look to the prophets as examples of how we should respond to suffering.

In this week's sermon, Austin wraps up chapter 4 and begins chapter 5 of James! In our reading for this week, James is bringing our attention to two things that cause every person worry: our finances and our future. Many people will try to plan everything out regarding their money, and the 80-something years we have on earth. James throws a big wrench in all that planning by pointing out that our lives are but a mist and our money won't last.

This week we pick back up in our James series as Austin preaches over verses 1-10 of chapter 4. James has thus far been talking about our relationships with other people, and this chapter talks about the root of our broken relationships. James says that the cause of our broken relationships isn't external conflict but internal; our passions wage war within us. However, despite our selfishness, God gives a greater grace!

We are taking a break from our series in James to celebrate 23 new baptisms. Austin preaches on Luke 5:1-11 and how faith in Jesus starts with him approaching and pursuing us, not the other way around. Faith in Jesus looks like us falling at the feet of a savior who we didn't deserve but who still loves us. Baptism is a celebration of what has already happened in the heart of a believer, a faith in the only one who could save.

For this week's sermon, Austin preaches over James 3:13-17. In our passage this week, James talks about true wisdom, where it comes from, what it's motivated by, and what it looks like in practice. Earthly wisdom, on the other hand, disguises itself and can often lead people astray.

We continue our series in James this week as Pastor Jeff preaches on James 3:1-12. So far, James has been teaching us how to take our faith into action but, in James 3, he teaches about the hardest thing to tame in our sinful nature, the tongue. What we say has the ability to be a blessing to others or destruction. Our words are so powerful and meant to be used by God to bless others.

For this week's sermon, Austin preaches on some of the most contentious verses in the Bible. Many have looked at James' letter as directly opposed to Paul's teaching on salvation through faith alone and direct proof that one needs to have works to be saved. What we find, though, when we examine the texts is that James is very specific about what kind of faith and works he calls people to.

In this week's sermon, Austin preaches over James 2:1-13. James warns of the sin of partiality in this passage, and even some 2000 years later, we as Christians fall victim to this sin so easily and without even realizing it. Austin points out what modern partiality looks like and why it is antithetical to who God is, what He has done for us, and what He commands us to do for others.

In this week's sermon, Global Engagement Director Anthony Belling preaches over James 1:19-27. In this passage, we see James specifically calling out the dangers of accumulating knowledge of the faith without putting it to work. Anthony points out how spiritual knowledge that doesn't lead to physical engagement can turn into spiritual congestion.

In our third week in the book of James, Austin preaches verses 13 through 18. In the verses for this week, James is addressing the reality that we as Christians will experience temptation. Not only is it inevitable that we will face these temptations, but it is also likely that we will try to shift the blame off ourselves and onto others. The good news of the Gospel, however, is that Jesus confronted the worst kinds of temptation and yet didn't give into them. Knowing that we are encouraged to look to Jesus' sacrifice rather than to satisfy our temptations.