City Church Boulder

There was one theme saturating everything Jesus said and did; one thing He started and ended His public ministry talking about; one thing we all want and need. We're looking at the intro in this week's message.CITY CHURCH EXISTS TO HELP PEOPLE FIND THEIR WAY TO GOD FROM WHERE THEY ARE.You can find us here:www.citychurchboulder.com www.facebook.com/citychurchboulder www.instagram.com/citychurchboulder

Jesus received his identity from his father and lived from that identity. He invites us to do the same. When you know who you are and whose you are, you know how to live - how to really live.CITY CHURCH EXISTS TO HELP PEOPLE FIND THEIR WAY TO GOD FROM WHERE THEY ARE.You can find us here:www.facebook.com/citychurchboulderwww.instagram.com/citychurchboulder

Lean in as we hear from our Director of Operations, Michelle Hessler, from Matthew 3. CITY CHURCH EXISTS TO HELP PEOPLE FIND THEIR WAY TO GOD FROM WHERE THEY ARE.You can find us here:www.citychurchboulder.com www.facebook.com/citychurchboulder www.instagram.com/citychurchboulder

Everyone loves a good origin story. Matthew takes us back in the story of Jesus, not just for background context, but because the more we understand Jesus, the more we understand ourselvesCITY CHURCH EXISTS TO HELP PEOPLE FIND THEIR WAY TO GOD FROM WHERE THEY ARE.You can find us here:www.citychurchboulder.com www.facebook.com/citychurchboulder www.instagram.com/citychurchboulder

Jesus. How do you capture the magnitude of this name? The simplicity? The beauty? The weight? The grace? The wisdom? The power? The love? The sacrifice? John, one of Jesus' closest friends and disciples tried to sum it up at the end of his account this way: “Jesus did many other things…and if every one of them were written down, I suppose that even the whole world would not have room for the books that would be written.” Wow what an ending! On the other hand, Matthew, one of Jesus' other disciples decides to intro his account with this zinger: “This is the genealogy of Jesus the Messiah…” Hang on tight. This is going to be good.CITY CHURCH EXISTS TO HELP PEOPLE FIND THEIR WAY TO GOD FROM WHERE THEY ARE.You can find us here:www.citychurchboulder.com www.facebook.com/citychurchboulder www.instagram.com/citychurchboulder

We wrap up our series “Essentials” by reviewing our 9 practices and how they work together in the life of this family as we practice the way of Jesus, together, in Boulder.CITY CHURCH EXISTS TO HELP PEOPLE FIND THEIR WAY TO GOD FROM WHERE THEY ARE.You can find us here:www.citychurchboulder.com www.facebook.com/citychurchboulder www.instagram.com/citychurchboulder

Community: an idea familiar to the culture we live in, but experientially it often seems a far cry from what Jesus had in mind. What makes community in the way of Jesus different, more formational, and more impactful than the versions the world has to offer?CITY CHURCH EXISTS TO HELP PEOPLE FIND THEIR WAY TO GOD FROM WHERE THEY ARE.You can find us here:www.citychurchboulder.com www.facebook.com/citychurchboulder www.instagram.com/citychurchboulder

Humility is a part of someone's character that is typically admired (at least from the perspective of an obituary), but how do you grow in it? How do you become a humble person? Richard Foster says, “More than any other single way, the grace of humility is worked into our lives through the discipline of service.”CITY CHURCH EXISTS TO HELP PEOPLE FIND THEIR WAY TO GOD FROM WHERE THEY ARE.You can find us here: www.citychurchboulder.com www.facebook.com/citychurchboulder www.instagram.com/citychurchboulder

Jesus said, “come to me…and I will give you rest”, but most of us don't have time for that do we? Even if we did, what does it mean to truly rest? We've definitely mastered entertainment, but we probably wouldn't relate our latest Netflix binge to Jesus' invitation here, would we? (Wait does “The Chosen” count??) Dallas Willard once said, “hurry is the great enemy of spiritual life in our day.” What would it look like to lean in and learn together from our “never-in-a-hurry” rabbi?CITY CHURCH EXISTS TO HELP PEOPLE FIND THEIR WAY TO GOD FROM WHERE THEY ARE. You can find us here: www.citychurchboulder.com www.facebook.com/citychurchboulder www.instagram.com/citychurchboulder

As we gather to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus, we will consider how the accounts of the resurrection are, to quote Tim Keller, “intensely rational, merciful, personal, and wonderful,” and too good not to look into for ourselvesCITY CHURCH EXISTS TO HELP PEOPLE FIND THEIR WAY TO GOD FROM WHERE THEY ARE. You can find us here: www.citychurchboulder.com www.facebook.com/citychurchboulder www.instagram.com/citychurchboulder

Fasting is perhaps one of the most disconnected practices from our modern day experience of following Jesus. It is difficult to understand, post-enlightenment, how anything spiritual can be connected to our stomachs. What role can “not eating” possibly play in empowering me to follow JesusCITY CHURCH EXISTS TO HELP PEOPLE FIND THEIR WAY TO GOD FROM WHERE THEY ARE.You can find us here:www.citychurchboulder.com www.facebook.com/citychurchboulder www.instagram.com/citychurchboulder

Many Jesus followers have a sincere desire to obey Jesus in the area of making disciples, but for a variety of reasons, they struggle to see their lives produce this kind of fruit. What if you could become the kind of person that partners with God in such a way, that you look up before the end of this year and you're baptizing someone with your own hands that you've introduced to Jesus? What if that's only the beginning? What if that was God's plan for you all along?CITY CHURCH EXISTS TO HELP PEOPLE FIND THEIR WAY TO GOD FROM WHERE THEY ARE. You can find us here: www.citychurchboulder.com www.facebook.com/citychurchboulder www.instagram.com/citychurchboulder

Hear from Craig Alsup as he shares about our partnership with and God's activity in and through Manna Worldwide.CITY CHURCH EXISTS TO HELP PEOPLE FIND THEIR WAY TO GOD FROM WHERE THEY ARE.You can find us here:www.citychurchboulder.com www.facebook.com/citychurchboulder www.instagram.com/citychurchboulder

In a culture saturated in consumerism, materialism, and hedonism (the idea that pleasure and experience are "the highest human good"), is it possible there's a better way? A more joyful way? A deep seated contentment available through practice in the way of Jesus?CITY CHURCH EXISTS TO HELP PEOPLE FIND THEIR WAY TO GOD FROM WHERE THEY ARE.You can find us here:www.citychurchboulder.com www.facebook.com/citychurchboulder www.instagram.com/citychurchboulder

In a world of hurry and noise, what does it look like to follow Jesus into the practice of silence and solitude? What do we gain if we do? What do we lose if we don't?CITY CHURCH EXISTS TO HELP PEOPLE FIND THEIR WAY TO GOD FROM WHERE THEY ARE.You can find us here:www.citychurchboulder.com www.facebook.com/citychurchboulder www.instagram.com/citychurchboulder

In a culture of ideological compromise, what does it look like to carry an honest and courageous commitment to orthodoxy as we practice the way of Jesus together in Boulder?CITY CHURCH EXISTS TO HELP PEOPLE FIND THEIR WAY TO GOD FROM WHERE THEY ARE. You can find us here:www.citychurchboulder.comwww.facebook.com/citychurchboulderwww.instagram.com/citychurchboulder

We start our journey of taking up the easy yoke of Jesus through the central practice of prayer. Richard Foster says “Of all spiritual disciplines, prayer is the most central because it ushers us into perpetual communion with the Father.” In other words, prayer is how we learn to “be with Jesus.” But it doesn't stop there.CITY CHURCH EXISTS TO HELP PEOPLE FIND THEIR WAY TO GOD FROM WHERE THEY ARE.You can find us here:www.citychurchboulder.com www.facebook.com/citychurchboulder www.instagram.com/citychurchboulder

“My Yoke is Easy; Burden is Light” - how do we carry the invitation and way of Jesus into our whole lives? How do we move increasingly from information to transformation? How do we experience as Dallas Willard notes “the effective and full enjoyment of active love of God and humankind in all the daily rounds of normal existence where we are placed” both now and over the long haul? Welcome to “The Essentials.”CITY CHURCH EXISTS TO HELP PEOPLE FIND THEIR WAY TO GOD FROM WHERE THEY ARE. You can find us here: www.citychurchboulder.com www.facebook.com/citychurchboulder www.instagram.com/citychurchboulder

As we wrap up this series, we will take a simple look at the consistent effort we must make to live as whole-hearted apprentices under Jesus.CITY CHURCH EXISTS TO HELP PEOPLE FIND THEIR WAY TO GOD FROM WHERE THEY ARE. You can find us here: www.citychurchboulder.com www.facebook.com/citychurchboulder www.instagram.com/citychurchboulder

Howard Dayton says “Giving is not God's way of raising money, it's God's way of raising people into the likeness of His Son.” As followers of Jesus, our desire is to become like Him in every aspect of our lives. As a result, the practice of generosity is central to our spiritual formation. CITY CHURCH EXISTS TO HELP PEOPLE FIND THEIR WAY TO GOD FROM WHERE THEY ARE. You can find us here:www.citychurchboulder.comwww.facebook.com/citychurchboulderwww.instagram.com/citychurchboulder

When we look at our lives with the end in mind, most, if not all of us, want to minimize regret and enjoy life to the full. We all want to make the most of our time—we all want our lives to matter. But how do know that we're giving ourselves to the right things? As followers of Jesus, we acknowledge that God has given us this one life to live, and in and of itself, it's a sheer, amazing gift. But there's more… we're also gifted - why?CITY CHURCH EXISTS TO HELP PEOPLE FIND THEIR WAY TO GOD FROM WHERE THEY ARE. You can find us here: www.citychurchboulder.com www.facebook.com/citychurchboulder www.instagram.com/citychurchboulder

We are the most time-aware generation in human history. We have found ways to make every second of life as efficient as possible. We are simultaneously the most time-poor generation in human history. We live with an attention deficit currently losing to the attention span of a goldfish. As followers of Jesus, how should we respond? CITY CHURCH EXISTS TO HELP PEOPLE FIND THEIR WAY TO GOD FROM WHERE THEY ARE.You can find us here:www.citychurchboulder.com www.facebook.com/citychurchboulder www.instagram.com/citychurchboulder

CS Lewis says “God finds our desires not too strong, but too weak.” It's so easy to settle for far less than what is available to us in Jesus - life to the full; a life saturated with what is good, beautiful, and true. How do we cultivate a hunger for God and not settle for less?CITY CHURCH EXISTS TO HELP PEOPLE FIND THEIR WAY TO GOD FROM WHERE THEY ARE.You can find us here:www.citychurchboulder.com www.facebook.com/citychurchboulder www.instagram.com/citychurchboulder

An essential distinctive for this trip around the sun is that as followers of Jesus, we must practice the way together. As we step into this new year, we will leverage the practice of fasting together for our formation.CITY CHURCH EXISTS TO HELP PEOPLE FIND THEIR WAY TO GOD FROM WHERE THEY ARE.You can find us here:www.citychurchboulder.com www.facebook.com/citychurchboulder www.instagram.com/citychurchboulder

It's so easy to lose sight of the gravity of opportunity surrounding the beginning of a new year, the opportunity to evaluate our last steps and our next steps, our dreams and our goals, our ambitions and destinations; to take stock of our lives and to see where we're going and who we're becoming along the way. Lean in for the kick off of our new series, “A Trip Around the Sun.”CITY CHURCH EXISTS TO HELP PEOPLE FIND THEIR WAY TO GOD FROM WHERE THEY ARE.You can find us here:www.citychurchboulder.com www.facebook.com/citychurchboulder www.instagram.com/citychurchboulder

We will wrap up the year by sitting in awe and wonder at who Jesus claims to be and how His life of compassion and humility reinforces those claims. From that space of awe and wonder, we will consider our only appropriate response.CITY CHURCH EXISTS TO HELP PEOPLE FIND THEIR WAY TO GOD FROM WHERE THEY ARE. You can find us here: www.citychurchboulder.com www.facebook.com/citychurchboulder www.instagram.com/citychurchboulder

We are all invited to follow Jesus; to come and count ourselves among the faithful. But what does that look like exactlyCITY CHURCH EXISTS TO HELP PEOPLE FIND THEIR WAY TO GOD FROM WHERE THEY ARE.You can find us here:www.citychurchboulder.com www.facebook.com/citychurchboulder www.instagram.com/citychurchboulder

Open your eyes in wonder as we practice the way of Jesus, together, in Boulder.CITY CHURCH EXISTS TO HELP PEOPLE FIND THEIR WAY TO GOD FROM WHERE THEY ARE.You can find us here:www.citychurchboulder.com www.facebook.com/citychurchboulder www.instagram.com/citychurchboulder

Lean in as Madi Kester continues our series on “The New Family of Jesus” through the expressions of church and vulnerability.CITY CHURCH EXISTS TO HELP PEOPLE FIND THEIR WAY TO GOD FROM WHERE THEY ARE.You can find us here:www.citychurchboulder.com www.facebook.com/citychurchboulder www.instagram.com/citychurchboulder

As we continue in this series, we take a look at the role, development, and value of friendship alongside the larger expressions of community. CITY CHURCH EXISTS TO HELP PEOPLE FIND THEIR WAY TO GOD FROM WHERE THEY ARE.You can find us here:www.citychurchboulder.com www.facebook.com/citychurchboulder www.instagram.com/citychurchboulder

The invitation from Jesus to “follow me” is also met with the command to “go and tell.” What does it look like for us to live as witnesses, together, in the new family of Jesus?CITY CHURCH EXISTS TO HELP PEOPLE FIND THEIR WAY TO GOD FROM WHERE THEY ARE.You can find us here: www.citychurchboulder.com www.facebook.com/citychurchboulder www.instagram.com/citychurchboulder

As we practice the way of Jesus together in Boulder, we must think deeply and live wholly into the role community plays in our spiritual formation. In addition, we have ideas of formation and ideals of community we must be honest about in order to participate more fully into all that God has for us. What might surprise us is that through the more or less ordinary and non-glamorous aspects of community can come some of our most significant long-term formation.CITY CHURCH EXISTS TO HELP PEOPLE FIND THEIR WAY TO GOD FROM WHERE THEY ARE.You can find us here: www.citychurchboulder.com www.facebook.com/citychurchboulder www.instagram.com/citychurchboulder

Community as followers of Jesus is often seen as a gift; especially when it's life-giving and there's some form of mutual benefit. But what about when it gets stale or boring? What about when it's hard? What about when it's painful? What about when it's disappointing? What about when the benefits seem completely absent? Can it still be a gift?CITY CHURCH EXISTS TO HELP PEOPLE FIND THEIR WAY TO GOD FROM WHERE THEY ARE.You can find us here: www.citychurchboulder.com www.facebook.com/citychurchboulder www.instagram.com/citychurchboulder

Lean in as we look at Jesus radical claims around the new family he was starting and how his words would have made his first-century listeners cringe, yet are often lost on our modern ears.CITY CHURCH EXISTS TO HELP PEOPLE FIND THEIR WAY TO GOD FROM WHERE THEY ARE.You can find us here: www.citychurchboulder.com www.facebook.com/citychurchboulder www.instagram.com/citychurchboulder

As we wrap up our series in 1 Thessalonians, Paul encourages us to lean into our relationship with the Holy Spirit and the essential role of prophecy within the church. CITY CHURCH EXISTS TO HELP PEOPLE FIND THEIR WAY TO GOD FROM WHERE THEY ARE.You can find us here: www.citychurchboulder.com www.facebook.com/citychurchboulder www.instagram.com/citychurchboulder

There are many things in our life that are nonstop, and for many of them we wish that wasn't the case- that there was an off button. But as followers of Jesus there are a few things that should be nonstop that are probably easily lost in our busy-ness. Lean in as we walk through Paul's simple commands this week.CITY CHURCH EXISTS TO HELP PEOPLE FIND THEIR WAY TO GOD FROM WHERE THEY ARE.You can find us here: www.citychurchboulder.com www.facebook.com/citychurchboulder www.instagram.com/citychurchboulder

Lean in as Madi Lester walks us through 1 Thessalonians 5:23-24.CITY CHURCH EXISTS TO HELP PEOPLE FIND THEIR WAY TO GOD FROM WHERE THEY ARE.You can find us here: www.citychurchboulder.com www.facebook.com/citychurchboulder www.instagram.com/citychurchboulder

Lean in as we do a Q & A with our very first missionaries sent out of the family of City Church to Central Asia!CITY CHURCH EXISTS TO HELP PEOPLE FIND THEIR WAY TO GOD FROM WHERE THEY ARE.You can find us here: www.citychurchboulder.com www.facebook.com/citychurchboulder www.instagram.com/citychurchboulder

Following Jesus is all about relationships: our relationship with God, his family, and the world (those not yet in his family.) It's in the context of community that we learn to work out what it means to put into practice the way of Jesus. As Paul continues to wrap up his letter, he gives the Thessalonians instructions on how to live within the arena of four different relationships.CITY CHURCH EXISTS TO HELP PEOPLE FIND THEIR WAY TO GOD FROM WHERE THEY ARE.You can find us here: www.citychurchboulder.com www.facebook.com/citychurchboulder www.instagram.com/citychurchboulder

Lean in for this timely stand alone message around generosity and this unique and exciting season for our church family.CITY CHURCH EXISTS TO HELP PEOPLE FIND THEIR WAY TO GOD FROM WHERE THEY ARE.You can find us here: www.citychurchboulder.com www.facebook.com/citychurchboulder www.instagram.com/citychurchboulder

The stats are in and they are staggering: 10 out of 10 people will eventually die. We have a funny relationship with our mortality. We live as if it's not a reality for as long as we can and then when it's staring us in the face and we have to stare back, we often don't cope well. But what if as Jesus followers there's a better way? Jesus himself modeled and invites us into that better way; a way with permission to grieve well and maintain hope while simultaneously living fully engaged and alive in the life God has called us to.CITY CHURCH EXISTS TO HELP PEOPLE FIND THEIR WAY TO GOD FROM WHERE THEY ARE.You can find us here: www.citychurchboulder.com www.facebook.com/citychurchboulder www.instagram.com/citychurchboulder

All of us want to change; most of us struggle to know how. All of us want our lives to be connected to a larger purpose; many of us struggle to figure out what that purpose is. All of us have an ideal of community; many of us struggle to embrace wholly the one right in front of us. Lean in as Paul helps us address these issues in 1 Thessalonians 4.CITY CHURCH EXISTS TO HELP PEOPLE FIND THEIR WAY TO GOD FROM WHERE THEY ARE.You can find us here: www.citychurchboulder.com www.facebook.com/citychurchboulder www.instagram.com/citychurchboulder

As we continue through 1 Thessalonians, Paul has three areas of concern he begins to address in order to see people continue to thrive in the way of Jesus. The first of those three is the issue of sexual formation. How do we navigate these same issues in our current cultural moment as we practice the way of Jesus together in Boulder?CITY CHURCH EXISTS TO HELP PEOPLE FIND THEIR WAY TO GOD FROM WHERE THEY ARE.You can find us here: www.citychurchboulder.com www.facebook.com/citychurchboulder www.instagram.com/citychurchboulder

Lean in as Stuart Sharpe helps us wrap up chapter 3 on our series through 1 Thessalonians! CITY CHURCH EXISTS TO HELP PEOPLE FIND THEIR WAY TO GOD FROM WHERE THEY ARE.You can find us here:www.citychurchboulder.com www.facebook.com/citychurchboulder www.instagram.com/citychurchboulder

This week we continue through 1 Thessalonians and take a look at 3 themes from the life of Paul that we need to integrate into our own lives as we follow Jesus.CITY CHURCH EXISTS TO HELP PEOPLE FIND THEIR WAY TO GOD FROM WHERE THEY ARE.You can find us here: www.citychurchboulder.com www.facebook.com/citychurchboulder www.instagram.com/citychurchboulder

When you hear the word influencer, it probably brings to mind a specific idea or person. The way our current culture talks about influence can make the way we think about our own influence challenging. But what if you're made to be an influencer? Paul and the Thessalonians help us consider how we're influenced and how we can be used by God to influence others as we apprentice our lives under Jesus.CITY CHURCH EXISTS TO HELP PEOPLE FIND THEIR WAY TO GOD FROM WHERE THEY ARE.You can find us here: www.citychurchboulder.com www.facebook.com/citychurchboulder www.instagram.com/citychurchboulder

For most of us, a model is helpful. It's a pattern to lean into, learn from, and put into practice. It's one thing to have a model to follow, but it's another thing to want it. A healthy vision cultivates desire and Jesus gives us both!CITY CHURCH EXISTS TO HELP PEOPLE FIND THEIR WAY TO GOD FROM WHERE THEY ARE.You can find us here: www.citychurchboulder.com www.facebook.com/citychurchboulder www.instagram.com/citychurchboulder

Guest speaker Bryson Mcguire walks us through 1 Thessalonians 1:2-3 and invites us to consider what it means to faithfully follow Jesus. CITY CHURCH EXISTS TO HELP PEOPLE FIND THEIR WAY TO GOD FROM WHERE THEY ARE.You can find us here: www.citychurchboulder.com www.facebook.com/citychurchboulder www.instagram.com/citychurchboulder

What does it mean to trust in Jesus as Lord? What kind of risk is associated with such a claim? What would cause individuals and entire communities to willingly and joyfully endure hardship from external and internal pressures for such a claim?CITY CHURCH EXISTS TO HELP PEOPLE FIND THEIR WAY TO GOD FROM WHERE THEY ARE.You can find us here: www.citychurchboulder.com www.facebook.com/citychurchboulder www.instagram.com/citychurchboulder

We kick off the letter of 1 Thessalonians with an overview of the letter and the direction we're taking for the summer as we practice the way of Jesus together in Boulder.CITY CHURCH EXISTS TO HELP PEOPLE FIND THEIR WAY TO GOD FROM WHERE THEY ARE.You can find us here: www.citychurchboulder.com www.facebook.com/citychurchboulder www.instagram.com/citychurchboulder

As we wrap up this series, we're taking a look at the already-not-yet reality of the Kingdom of God and the invitation to both participate and hope now, and forever.CITY CHURCH EXISTS TO HELP PEOPLE FIND THEIR WAY TO GOD FROM WHERE THEY ARE.You can find us here: www.citychurchboulder.com www.facebook.com/citychurchboulder www.instagram.com/citychurchboulder