Brand-New Sermon Series

This Sunday, we’re kicking off a new six-week sermon series called “We Are Cities Church.” A topical series like this is rare for us. Normally, we preach through a book of the Bible, except for special occasions.

Going back to the end of last year, in the hope of new grass, the pastors began a process of re-clarifying our church’s mission and vision. Guided by our friend, Shane Stacey, we spent seven months examining the Scriptures and wrestling with where God is calling our church in these days. 

There are two foundational layers here. First, there is God’s calling on the local church in general. What is his vision for the church from Acts 2 until the day when Jesus returns? There’s no real debate here. Jesus tells us to “make disciples of all nations” (Matthew 28:18–20) — and we repeat those words of Jesus every Sunday. To be a real local church is to have this mission. 

But then, secondly, we ask: What does making disciples of Jesus look like within our “spatiotemporal confines”? (This is also called “city rationale.”)

In other words, how does our city rationale — where we live and when we live — together with our doctrinal foundation, inform how we fulfill our mission? 

In his magnum opus on church planting, Center Church, the late Tim Keller calls this a church’s “theological vision.” Way back in 2014, the primary work of our church’s founding team was to clarify what that was for us. Here’s how I explained the challenge:

Doctrinal Foundation + City Rationale

= Theological Vision

Here’s where we landed on all of that by September 2014:

But Now Is Today

By God’s grace, through much prayer and effort, in 2024 we’ve done an important deep dive into the whole thing.

Throughout the next six weeks, the plan for this series is to explain the most significant updates we’ve ever made, so that our church can more faithfully fulfill our mission to make disciples of Jesus in these days. 

1. Our Mission

2. We Are Jesus Worshipers

3. We Are Joyful Servants

4. We Are Generous Disciplers

5. We Are Welcoming Witnesses

6. Our Vision

I hope you’ll join us on Sundays, prayerfully and eagerly. The best is yet to come.

“Amen. Come, Lord Jesus!” (Revelation 21:20)