Arise Church Denver Weekly Messages

The radical life of following Jesus starts with putting him first, but it certainly doesn't end there. Listen to this message to hear about the mission that God is calling us to and the radical joy that can be found even in the difficulties of being sent out by Jesus.

“Radical obedience to Christ is not easy... It's not comfort, not health, not wealth, and not prosperity in this world. Radical obedience to Christ risks losing all these things. But in the end, such risk finds its reward in Christ. And he is more than enough for us.” - David Platt // Listen in to hear about the radical life that Jesus is calling us to.

Are we in the End Times? It is a question that people have been asking for generations, but 2020 has certainly made it feel that way - disease, separation, racial injustice, war, protests, murder hornets. Could we really be in the end times? Listen in as we seek to find our bearings and focus on the implications that end times have on our lives right now.

We like to believe that we are in control of who we are, but honestly, we are shaped by so many different things. Our identity is a mix of the people we surround ourselves with, the shows we watch, the groups we are a part of, the job we hold, the environments we are regularly in. BUT, what if our identity could be molded by God, molded to live extraordinarily, molded to mold others? Listen in as we continue our series, No Ordinary People, looking at the extraordinary life of Daniel.

Jonah. A fish story. A whale of a tale. The reluctant prophet who gets swallowed by a giant fish. It’s one for the kid’s, right? Actually, Jonah is a profound drama that should impact all of us--if we only we examined the real reason for Jonah’s reluctance. The implications for our own lives and how we treat others are not to be missed. Sermon Notes: https://my.bible.com/events/23714421

"There are no ordinary people. You have never talked to a mere mortal. Nations, cultures, arts, civilizations - these are mortal. But it is immortals whom we joke with, work with, marry, snub and exploit - immortal horrors or everlasting splendors. No flippancy, no superiority, no presumption. And our charity must be a real and costly love. You have never talked to a mere mortal." Join us as we kickoff our new series and discover what the imago dei means for us today.

Our lives have a lot of ups and down. It seems everything is going fine until you get that bad news out of nowhere. If we are honest, it often feels like life has a lot more valleys than it does mountaintops. Join us this Sunday to hear about how our faith can be more than the mountaintop.

It’s rare to find someone who doesn’t like Jesus. Even atheists admire him. But most people see him as one among many great historical figures. Is that enough, or is Jesus something more? Join us this Sunday either online or outdoors to find out. Sermon Notes Available at: https://my.bible.com/events/19593417

Our society is so competitive. We all know the sayings: "If you aren't first, then you're last.", "Second place is the first loser." "Winning is everything." And yet in order to be a follower and disciple of Jesus, he calls us to a very different kind of winning. In fact, in order to WIN we are going to have to lose. Sermon Notes available: http://bible.com/events/18886301

E pluribus unum. Latin for “out of many one," it is the unofficial motto of the United States. It is on our money and monuments. A lasting reminder of many races, cultures, peoples, languages that make up our nation. But our country right now is anything but one... In a special message responding to situation of racial tensions and injustice, listen to how the Gospel can help each of us respond and bring about the "oneness" that our nation's motto calls us too. Sermon notes available at: http://bible.com/events/16766698

As followers of Jesus, each one of us are called to serve others, but few of us actually feel qualified with enough energy to do so. Where do you turn when you feel like you have nothing to offer or nothing left to give? Join us this weekend for a walk with Jesus' disciples as they wrestle with what it means to follow Jesus and serve others. 

“Waiting is the hardest part.” Tom Petty was right. Waiting is difficult. Whether we’re waiting for marriage, or kids, or a job or just for this pandemic to be over, waiting is difficult. So how do we make it thorough? Discover in this message.

If you interviewed 100 people, you would likely get 100 different answers on who Jesus is, ranging from the religious to the radical, the reverent to outright rejection. In this first message of the JESUS IS series, learn how the ultimate authority of Jesus calls us to see Jesus for who he really is.

“He loves, he loves me not.” Like the child pulling petals off the flower, we often doubt God’s love for us. When things are going badly in our life or when we feel guilty because of sin, we wonder…have I fallen out of God’s love? In our series finale be assured of God’s unending love. Sermon Notes: http://bible.com/events/11896339

A pandemic, missed major events, isolation, job loss, sickness, bankruptcy, suffering, death. How do we have victory over the worst things our world is throwing at us right now? Discover in Sunday’s message how God’s still working.

The world tells us that if you have confidence in yourself, you can do just about anything. Although having a good self-image is important, is it enough? When the problems come, when the diagnosis isn't what you wanted to hear, when the relationship falls apart, when you are at the end of your rope...is your belief in yourself enough to get you through? In this message, hear about how to find true confidence that can weather any storm. Sermon Notes available at: http://bible.com/events/7206950

The well-known American evangelist, Dwight Moody once said, “I have had more trouble with myself than any other man.” I think Moody is dead on. If we are honest with ourselves, we would see that the biggest battle we need victory over is what goes on within our hearts and minds. In this message, discover how to win the war within.

We all know this isn’t a normal Easter. ⁣ But there isn’t anything

Are you feeling discouraged? Downtrodden? Disheartened? With everything going on in our world from the economy, to people battling the virus, to simply being stuck at home with little interaction from others, it's likely that nearly all of us are struggling. But what if God is calling us to something greater? What if this time could be filled with encouragement instead of discouragement, boldness instead of anxiety, courage instead of fear? Join us online this Sunday to hear how God is calling us for such a time as this.

This week we get to be encouraged through a special message from Reza Zadeh, Denver Broncos Team Chaplain. We all are experiencing feelings of fear, worry, anxiety and unease during this unprecedented time. This week's message offers an antidote to these emotions and give us the secret to experiencing the peace we all desperately long for.

An economy struggling. A virus spreading. Fear and worry running rampant. It’s times like these when we need people who are willing to take a stand for hope and love more than ever before. In this message learn how we can be the Change Agents our world needs right now.

Everyone knew her reputation. They had heard about her past--the people she hurt, the things she had done--her sin. So when she walked straight up to Jesus in the middle of dinner and started washing his feet with her tears, you can imagine what people began to think. When we encounter a person with a promiscuous reputation or someone who just got out of prison or that leader who had that public moral failure, how do we respond? In this message, learn from Jesus how a shameful past doesn’t have to destroy someone’s future.

In the classic movie, Ferris Bueller fakes being sick to spend a day out of school and out "actually living", famously declaring that, "Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it." For many of us our lives are moving quite fast and we don't get the opportunity to take time to really evaluate what we are looking for. If and when we do, we often are forced to acknowledge that we still haven't found what we are looking for. But what if it was possible to find not only what we are looking for, but someone even better? Join us this Sunday to find the one you are looking for.

Faith is something that is talked about a lot at church, but if we are being honest, many of us struggle with our faith in God. Is God really out there? Does God really care about my life? Did Jesus really live and die for my sins (even the ones no one else knows about...)? This week, as we continue our series on Change Agents, we will all be challenged to see that even GREAT FAITH in God is not only possible but it is something that can change our everyday lives.

Love is one of the most powerful feelings we can experience. It has led to some of the most beautiful expressions of art in our world and countless moments of joy. And yet love continues to cause pain, heartbreak, hurt, and judgement. But what if there was a love that only brought about mercy, forgiveness, goodness, and stability? Listen in as we investigate together what real love looks like and how we can start to love like Jesus.

Do you wanna change the world? Most of us long for this. We want our lives to count for something. So how do we actually accomplish it? Jesus wants us to change the world too, and in this message and new series. we will learn from him how we can be the change agents our world so desperately needs.

“It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick.” Jesus words may seem so benign and obvious, but they were controversial and inflaming to many in his day. And honestly, they should upset many religious people today. In this message, learn how Jesus is the Great Doctor and how we can join him in healing others.

“It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick.” Jesus words may seem so benign and obvious, but they were controversial and inflaming to many in his day. And honestly, they should upset many religious people today. In this message, learn how Jesus is the Great Doctor and how we can join him in healing others.

Once Jesus began his ministry he called others to follow him. This initial call to follow was given to a few fisherman, but in turn is passed on to us. In this message, discover how an extraordinary haul of fish set off the Jesus’ movement to become the life-transforming force that you too can be a part of.

After starting his public ministry, Jesus grew in popularity. Then he went to his hometown. And a mob tried to murder him. Discover why the popularity of Jesus made even his hometown turn on him and what that may mean for us today as we seek to follow Jesus.

In the Bible, Jesus is referred to as the Son of God over 124 times. It is the most common designation given to him. So was Jesus the Son of God? And if so, what does this mean? More importantly, what does this mean for us mere humans? In this message, discover how Jesus’ divine sonship actually has profound implications for us humans.

A new year, a new decade, a new you. We often expect change to take place in our life because a new year brings us the hope of a new start. But how does real change happen? You’re not gonna want to miss this message as Pastor Matt begins a new series Investigating Jesus: A Revolution Begins to learn how a revolution can begin in our own lives.

Investigating Jesus: Origins - Part 5 | A Growing Savior | Luke 2:22-52

Investigating Jesus: Origins

We’ve all heard the stories. In fact, every Christmas we here about the baby Jesus – the virgin birth – the angels singing – the wise men bringing gifts and the birth in a manger. So what? Are these stories really all that important for our faith as Christians or are they just another part of the nostalgia of Christmas time? Join us this weekend as we continue to investigate the origin story of Jesus and seek to discover the importance of His birth.

In light of all the acclaim and notoriety that Jesus has received for the last three years of his ministry and life on earth, have you ever considered how it all began? The situations and circumstances that brought about the origins of Jesus? Join us this weekend as we continue the investigation into the life of Jesus with a look back at the astonishing circumstances that preceded his birth.

Born in a rural village in the middle east, he is now worshipped by over two billion people. But who was this man really? Is he actually God? Or has a mere human been elevated by myths and legends? Starting this Sunday, we will begin to investigate together who Jesus really was and what impact that should have on our lives. Join us this December!

Do miracles happen? Or are they just lucky coincidences? Or someone’s memory being distorted? Isn’t there always a better explanation? Though there are outlandish miracle claims like statues crying and grilled cheese sandwiches with healing properties, there are also some miracles that are central to Christianity. So what do we do with miracles? Do they happen? Do they happen today? Or has science disproved the existence of miracles? Find out in this message.

Part 4 | God & Morality | Romans 2:14-15

Prescientific people explained the unknown by gods, spirits and the supernatural. Because of the work of Charles Darwin and countless biologists following in his footsteps have provided a naturalistic explanation that eliminates our need for such outdated superstitions. But can evolution really explain that? Join us this week as we tackle one of the most challenging subjects of God and Science: evolution.

The Big Bang Theory brings up a lot of questions with its claims about reality: - Doesn’t science contradict the Bible and show us there is no God? - How does the theory of the Big Bang resonate with the claims of the Bible? - Can a Bible-believing Christian really hold to the Big Bang Theory? Join us this week as we examine how science isn’t just compatible with faith, it bolsters it.

In generations past, people believed in God and the supernatural because they didn’t understand the world. Yet with the invention of microscopes and telescopes, leading to an explosion in scientific knowledge, belief in God became unnecessary. Or so we’re told. But are faith and science really at war? Join us this Sunday as we start to discover if physics and biology; cosmology and evolution are enemies of faith OR if they are actually allies.

Throughout this entire belong series we focused in on our need for connection, for relationships, for community. Yet when community is found and when friendships are formed they often lead to conflict, disagreement, and frustration. So what do we do when community breaks down and when our relationships fall apart? Join us on Sunday to review our entire series and to find out how we all can power up to love one another even in the midst of these struggles!

Denver is ranked as the second-best place to live in the country. It’s also ranked as the third loneliest city in the country. I think there’s a connection. Here in Denver, we are the rugged individualists who leave friends and family to travel west because we think we can succeed on our own....until we discover that being alone isn’t as great as we expected. Thankfully, there’s a solution, join us Sunday to discover what it is.

“Remember when people had diaries and got mad when someone read them? Now they put everything online and get mad when people don’t.” This humorous observation captures our time. Social media enables people to tell the world that they went to the best brunch place in Denver, love singing (off-tune) at Mumford and Sons’ live show, are hanging out with mutual friends (without you), and can’t stand a political candidate. We talk and share and tweet and exclaim. We all have access to a megaphone to proclaim our opinion. Social Media has trained us to talk about ourselves, which in turn hurts our relationships. Thankfully, there’s a better way. This message provides a practical solution.

We live in a world that on the surface seems to value vulnerability and honesty, but is that really the case? If we were to show our true selves on our social media or even in-person, would anyone be receptive to who we really are? Join us this Sunday as Pastor Sawyer dives into what it looks like to actually be vulnerable and how it may actually be the key to the connection we all long for.

We have a problem. It’s not huge, but it’s pressing. So we’re taking a one-week hiatus from our Belong series to announce an important project we need to begin. Don’t worry though, there’s gonna be a biblical message. We will jump into the story of Nehemiah to learn how to fix material problems when it’s a time to rebuild.

We live in the age of personalized recommendations. An algorithm based on your online behavior recommends which show to watch next on Netflix, which music to listen to on Spotify, which product to purchase on Amazon, which news story to read in your news feed, and which posts to read on Facebook. Our online world is literally all about us. Our technological advancements have enabled us to be selfish. In turn, our relationships struggle. Maybe the answer to this modern problem has been there for 2,000 years. Find out in this message.

We are busy. Crazy busy. School, events, activities, sports, work, deadlines, chores, errands. Some of you feel your stress level rising right now as you read this. So when it comes to worshipping on a Sunday or committing to a community group during the week, we balk. But here’s the thing: you can’t belong if you can’t be there. And we long for belonging. So be there for this message and learn why something as simple as showing up is so helpful for you and for others.

We’ve never been more connected, yet we’ve never felt more alone.
 With the massive technological shifts of the past decades, we are infinitely more connected with more people across the globe than ever before. And yet, levels of anxiety, depression and loneliness are also rising. Is there a solution to our modern predicament? The answer is simpler than you might think.