Church of the City New York

Welcome to Church of the City New York's Advent Devotionals. Jesus was good news in the First Century, and He is still good news today. In the Christmas stories recounted in Scripture, people always responded to Jesus with amazement and praise. This response came from deep longings and heartbreak being met with God breaking in to fulfill His promises, offer His forgiveness, bring His justice and peace, and extend His love. This Christmas, we hope you will have your own encounter with the person of Jesus and the good news of His birth, and like those of old, let your song of praise resound to the world around you. Song Credits: Emily Lindquist Written By: Church of the City New York Editorial Team

This week, Pastor Suzy Silk began our Advent series with a message from Luke 2:25-35, which recounts Simeon's encounter with baby Jesus in the temple. Through his faithfulness to the Lord, despite so many years of waiting, Simeon was finally able to see not only his personal prayers answered, but also recognize the greater picture of God's redemption of the world through Jesus. We invite you to prayerfully consider practicing the way of generosity through financial giving to the Living the Liturgy offering at church.nyc/give.

Welcome to Church of the City New York's Advent Devotionals. Jesus was good news in the First Century, and He is still good news today. In the Christmas stories recounted in Scripture, people always responded to Jesus with amazement and praise. This response came from deep longings and heartbreak being met with God breaking in to fulfill His promises, offer His forgiveness, bring His justice and peace, and extend His love. This Christmas, we hope you will have your own encounter with the person of Jesus and the good news of His birth, and like those of old, let your song of praise resound to the world around you. Song Credits: Lindsey Arcaro Written By: Church of the City New York Editorial Team

This Sunday, Pastor Tim Brown closed out our Compelling Missional Disciples series with a teaching on Jesus' missional call to believers to share the Gospel with all people. Evangelism is often misunderstood and neglected in the Western church, but the reality is we must embrace this practice to fully live into the identity Jesus won for us on the cross and become His ambassadors on the earth. We invite you to prayerfully consider practicing the way of generosity through financial giving to the Living the Liturgy offering at church.nyc/give.

This Sunday, Pastor Jon Tyson followed up on last week's sermon on cultural renewal with a part two on the theology of work and calling, reminding us that a call to redemptive work is part of our God-given identity. When we do this, our vocation becomes a place where God can use our sacrifice to bring glory to Himself and re-enchant a broken world. We invite you to prayerfully consider practicing the way of generosity through financial giving to the Living the Liturgy offering at church.nyc/give.

This Sunday, Pastor Jon Tyson continued our Compelling Missional Disciples series by surveying the current cultural landscape, and pointing us to the Biblical mandate God has given us to create and steward a culture that glorifies Him. As the only creatures with the distinct ability to acknowledge what is beyond ourselves, Pastor Jon invited us to live with God's vision of cultural renewal in our time, brought about by our intentional stewardship of God's gifts to us. We invite you to prayerfully consider practicing the way of generosity through financial giving at church.nyc/give.

This Sunday, Pastor Keithen Schwahn continued our Compelling Missional Disciples series by unpacking the pessimism and passivity that has invaded the American church and tend to drive its view on the next generation. As we continue to develop as compelling missional disciples, we must embrace the mission to reverse the narrative that young people are a lost cause in the Western church, and dedicate ourselves to being a part of raising up the next generation.

This week, Pastor Jon Tyson continued our sermon series on Compelling Missional Disciples with a teaching on how to become fully trained. As maturing disciples, our goal is to become like Jesus, our master, unwilling to settle for anything less than all that He offers us. So in order to level up our training, Pastor Jon gave us three shifts to help fill our "formation gaps."

This week, Pastor Jon Tyson continued our Compelling Missional Disciples series with a teaching on the importance of being intentional in our formation. By asking who we are becoming by what we are doing, committing to go to the depths with God and our community, and listening daily for the truth God is speaking over us, rather than the pressures of the world, we will be increasingly formed in the way of Jesus. We invite you to join us for the Altars Conference this coming January. To register and learn more visit altars.nyc.

This week, Pastor Ashley Anderson continued our Compelling Missional Disciples sermon series with a message on the role of identity formation in becoming a compelling missional disciple. We must consider what we have falsely believed about ourselves, and then ask God to reveal our true selves and invite us into our purpose. We are looking for people to join our team! Visit church.nyc/staff to read descriptions and apply.

This Sunday, guest teacher, Pastor Darren Rouanzoin, continued our Fall sermon series, Compelling Missional Disciples, focusing on one major point: God's presence is everything. As followers of Jesus, we are called to seek the things of the Kingdom instead of the things of the world, make space in our hearts for God, humbly ask for more of His presence, and continually be filled with His power for the expansion of His Kingdom here on earth. We are looking for people to join our team! Visit church.nyc/staff to read descriptions and apply.

In place of this week's podcast we have a few special announcements from Pastor Jon. We are looking for people to join our team! Visit church.nyc/staff to read descriptions and apply. Sanctuary is an original song, written within our community, and reflects the desire of our church to be a people who close the gap between knowing God and experiencing what He offers. Captured at a Break the Soil worship night earlier this year, Sanctuary (Live) is available now anywhere you stream music! We invite you to download, share, and listen to Sanctuary (Live) here, today. We would like to invite you to join us at the Altars Conference this upcoming January. For early bird pricing and more information you can visit altars.nyc. We hope you can join us this upcoming Sunday in person or online. All of our gathering information can be found at church.nyc/services. You can find all of this information and more at church.nyc.

This Sunday, Pastor Sam continued our Fall sermon series, Compelling Missional Disciples, with a teaching on the importance of devotedly pursuing the knowledge of God, because having a proper view of God will determine everything else in our lives. The more we recalibrate our lives to the radical pursuit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of God, the more of His splendor can be released on the earth through our lives. We are looking for people to join our team! Visit church.nyc/staff to read descriptions and apply.

This Sunday, Pastor Jon continued our Fall sermon series, Compelling Missional Disciples, with a teaching on living a life that is attentive to the presence of God through the story of Mary and Martha. Being attentive to the presence of God is not just about big, dramatic encounters with Him, but about cultivating an awareness of Him in every area of our lives. We have been given access to live in full awareness of His presence, so let us not be a people who are pulled apart or dragged away from the invitation of Jesus to come and sit at His feet. We are looking for people to join our team! Visit church.nyc/staff to read descriptions and apply.

This Sunday, Pastor Jon kicked off our Fall sermon series, Compelling Missional Disciples, with an overview of Church of the City's vision for discipleship. As a church community, we must resolve to close the gap between what we are experiencing in our culture and what Jesus actually offers through discipleship to Him. Saying 'yes' to Jesus is surrendering to the best love we will ever know. Jesus is worthy of giving up everything to be wholeheartedly devoted to Him and His invitation to walk in the fullness of life. We are looking for people to join our team! Visit church.nyc/staff to read descriptions and apply.

This Sunday, Pastor Sam Gibson finished out our Rediscovering Church series with a teaching from 1 Thessalonians 5:12-28 on Jesus and His Church. As we look to and learn from the early church, we must be careful not to elevate them above the person of Jesus. The Church throughout time has always experienced difficult relational dynamics, because humans, in all of their brokenness, are involved. However, as the Bride of Christ, the Church is still called to operate in a different way. We must gather as the Body to exalt Jesus in the present, establish His Kingdom where we are, and look together toward our eternal future.

This Sunday, Pastor Matt Ro continued our Rediscovering Church series with a teaching on how we ought to live between Jesus' resurrection and His promised return. The reality of His return is imminent, and should be both the anchor and driving force of our hope. As followers of Jesus, we are meant to be a community marked by faith, hope, and love, that anxiously awaits His return and His Kingdom being fully realized on the earth.

This week, Pastor Jon continued our Rediscovering Church series with a teaching out of 1 Thessalonians 4:1-8 on sexual formation in the way of Jesus. The stories that the world sells about sexuality lead to disillusionment, disappointment, and fear. They drive us into false fulfillment or cycles of shame and guilt, but God's vision for sex is one that leads to transformation and joy, and ultimately points us back to the greatest love story in all of history: the union of Christ and His Church. As followers of Jesus, we must chose to live out of this sacred story, both as individuals and as a community, and offer our world a credible and compelling alternative to human flourishing.

This weekend, guest teacher David Thomas joined us to share a word on sowing for awakening through travailing prayer. David shares in our desire to see the fame and deeds of God renewed and known in our time, and was able to help steward the outpouring that happened earlier this year at Asbury. Experiencing this move of God first hand confirmed David's convictions that our prayer life is the most important thing about us and that we must press further into prayer as individuals and as the Church.

This Sunday, Pastor Ashley continued our Rediscovering Church series with a teaching on Christian persecution and the appropriate response of the Western Church. While it may appear that persecution is a burden of the past that only the early Church faced, the reality is that one in seven Christians today are facing persecution because of their faith. In light of this realtiy, perhaps the most significant thing we can do with our lives is to live beautiful and compelling lives of faith that echo back to those suffering for their faith that Jesus is indeed worthy.

This Sunday, Pastor Sam continued our Rediscovering Church series with a teaching on Paul's encouragement to the Thessalonians about suffering well. At this time, the Thessalonians were undergoing severe suffering for their beliefs, and Paul knew the importance of having an established faith in order to endure through trials, and the same is true for us today. As we experience moments of disappointment and doubt in seasons of suffering, grief, and pain, we must be continually rooted in Truth, and welcome the support of the Holy Spirit and community. Click here to watch the video mentioned at minute 45:43.

This Sunday, Pastor Suzy continued our Rediscovering Church series with a teaching on the importance of understanding and receiving "the word of God" in all its forms; the Scriptures, the person of Jesus, The Holy Spirit, and the Gospel message. The Word of God is living and active, God-breathed, sharper than any double-edged sword. It is time that we invite God back into our understanding of His Word and give it the rightful place of authority in our lives it was always meant to have.

This Sunday, Pastor Jon continued the "Rediscovering Church" series, teaching on restoring leadership credibility to a scandalized church with 1 Thessalonians 2:1-12 and laying out a guide for Godly leadership rooted in Jesus centered motives, methods, and mission.

This Sunday, Pastor Suzy continued our sermon series, Rediscovering Church, with an exploration of the Thessalonians as the model church: what set them apart, what sustained them, and how we can learn from their example to bear fruit that lasts in the church today. As a church in a diverse and bustling city, we have influence in how the gospel is shared and lived out. It is our responsibility to present a beautiful model of following Jesus with deep, theological conviction, and to develop faith in our community that can withstand cultural pressure.

This Sunday, Pastor Keithen Schwahn kicked off our Summer sermon series, Rediscovering Church, a study through 1 Thessalonians, with an overview of the book and an invitation to the church. As the leader of our growing Youth and College ministries, Pastor Keithen holds a unique perspective on what is happening in the next generation, and challenged us to rediscover the church of Jesus now, so that Gen Z can discover it for the first time.

This Sunday, Pastor Jon closed out our "We Want You Here" series with a call to consecration. In a time of theological compromise and the normalization of godlessness, God is calling us to devote ourselves to a Person, to a purpose, and to power through sacrifcal devotion and consecration.

This Sunday, Pastor Ashley Anderson continued our "We Want You Here" series with a message on joining God on His mission to seek and save the lost through prayer. As God's image bearers, Jesus declared that every person has incredible value to Him whether they turn to Him or not. As followers of Jesus, we are called to pray for the lost because we know what it was to be lost, and the great joy of being found.

This Sunday, we were joined by Compassion International, and Pastor Jon preached a special sermon on Biblical justice. When we love someone, we want to delight them, and this is what delights God: steadfast love, righteousness, and justice (Jeremiah 9:23-24). Compassion alum, Keewani Cook, was also able to share her powerful testimony about her own impoverished childhood, recieving sponsorship through Compassion, and learning that poverty was not her destiny. God provided a way for Keewani to go to school and start a career, and she ultimately learned—through another's compassion—that nothing is impossible for the Lord. Through stories like Keewani's, we see that what we do for the least of these, we do for Jesus. If you would like to join Compassion International on mission through the sponsorship of a child we invite you to head over to compassion.com/churchofthecity to see children still in need of sponsors.

This Sunday, Pastor Suzy continued our series "We Want You Here" with a teaching on joining in creation's chorus of praise through Psalm 148. Today, we are invited to join the chorus of praise that is happening right now in heaven and in creation. Praise unhindered by circumstances and feelings puts us in the right position before God, and allows us to live out our true purpose as His beloved creation.

This Sunday, Pastor Jon continued our "We Want You Here" series with a teaching on prayer through tears. Our world is a fallen place, and it has become the cultural norm to be cynical and numb to the pain, injustice, and sin that surrounds us. However, not only has God never gone numb to the world, He invites us to weep our way back to the tenderness of His heart.

This Sunday, Pastor Ralph Castillo continued our "We Want You Here" series with his sermon, "This is How We Fight Our Battles." Learning from the story of the Israelites' victory over the Amalekites in Exodus, we observe three key ways that we, as believers, should fight our battles: (1) We fight for people who are in a fight, (2) We fight together for people who are in a fight, and (3) We celebrate the victory–God's way. As believers, we can be confident that when we fight, we do not fight for victory, that instead, we fight from victory because we serve a victorious God.

Pastor Jon continued our current sermon series 'We Want You Here' with a deep dive into our human struggle with temptation. As we resist temptation and actively confess by bringing things into the light, shame melts away under the power of the cross. God rewards us with a new name in Christ, the affirmation of heaven, and the increased ability to walk into our purpose on earth with with freedom and authority.

This Sunday, Pastor Suzy continued our "We Want You Here" series by discussing prayer, grief, and lament through the prayer of the prophet Habakkuk. We join God in the restoration of the world when we enter into the brokenness in our own lives, the lives of other, and in our world. God does not always remove the mountains of grief and hardship, but instead gives us the ability to scale them, allowing them to become ebenezers of His faithfulness, places where we can make our homes.

This Sunday, Pastor Sam continued our "We Want You Here" sermon series by encouraging us to spend time in the Bible and pray Scripture back to God to move us toward a confident assurance about His character. We are able to rest in God when we have clarity and confidence about who He is, which comes from studying the Bible with the help of the Holy Spirit.

This Sunday, Pastor Jon kicked off our Eastertide sermon series, "We Want You Here," with a discussion of how we can grow in love. He broke down the four stages of Christian love described by medieval theologian Bernard of Clairvaux, and summarized them as "me, my, you, and us." As we move through these stages, the goal is to grow in deeper union with our Father.

This Easter Sunday, Pastor Jon preached on how the resurrection of Jesus proves that death is not the end. Ultimately, the resurrection is the most credible, surprising explanation for what happened to Jesus and the resulting spread of Christianity, and it requires a response from us. The Christian life is about readjusting our entire selves around Jesus. Despite the rise and fall of empires and ideologies, the story of Jesus is still, and always will be, breathtakingly credible and satisfying.

This Sunday, Pastor Suzy closed out our series, "God Comes Where He's Wanted 2.0" by teaching on the collision of kingdoms Jesus' entrance into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday caused in the hearts of all who gathered to welcome Him. As we remember Jesus' sacrifice during Holy Week, we are called to head His cries and seek His Kingdom first, laying down short-sighted satisfaction for eternal peace and the opportunity to see His Kingdom come.

This Sunday, Pastor Jon continued the "God Comes Where He's Wanted 2.0" series by teaching on the Lord's Prayer, focusing on the context of forgiveness it is presented in, reminding us that a life of forgiveness is an absolute necessity for followers of Jesus.

This Sunday, Pastor Jon continued the "God Comes Where He's Wanted 2.0" series through teaching on the Lord's Prayer - our "secret weapon" in the faith. Over time, Western Christianity has trivialized the Lord's Prayer, diminishing its true value and power in our lives. Now more than ever, we need to reclaim the power of the Lord's Prayer because it teaches us how to pray, orients our discipleship, frees us from the vanity and futility of self, and unleashes defiant hope.

This Sunday, Pastor Ashley continued our "God Comes Where He's Wanted 2.0" series by taking a closer look at Luke 11 where Jesus exhorts us to ask, seek, and knock. Prayer has less to do with technique, and more to do with who is listening. When we pray, we must remember who we're talking to: God, who is readily available, accessible, and can be "interrupted" at any time.

This Sunday, Pastor Suzy continued our "God Comes Where He's Wanted 2.0" series by taking a closer look at how Jesus calls us to pray in Luke 11. After He prays the Lord's prayer as a model, Jesus teaches that the posture we should pray from is one of shameless confidence for others and ourselves.

This Sunday, fueled by the urgent movement of God at Asbury University and elsewhere, Pastor Jon dug into the spiritual roots of revival as part of our extended series, "God Comes Where He's Wanted." Pointing to King Josiah's story from 2 Kings and 2 Chronicles as an example, Pastor Jon emphasized our need to repent and draw near to God, tear out sin by the roots, recover the heart of worship and understanding of scripture, and restore redemptive spiritual practices to usher in revival.

This Sunday, Pastor Jon taught from his reflections on his time at Asbury University last week. The outpouring of the Holy Spirit in Asbury is a clue that God is doing something, and He is asking us to pay attention. It's time to lean in with increased devotion, preparing our hearts, and strengthening the walls of our souls to carry the coming glory of revival. We must remember that as God is drawing near to us, He's inviting us to continue to draw near to Him.

In our final week of 'God Comes Where He's Wanted' Pastor Suzy emphasized the importance of understanding God's cry for our vital consecration and purity, as we desire and call upon our Holy God in our hearts, homes, church, and region. As King of the universe, we need to seek Him based on His terms, not our own, and we must consecrate our hearts and bodies to His holiness so that the cry of our heart, home, church, and region ushers in the revival we long for.

This Sunday, Pastor Sam continued our teaching series, "God Comes Where He's Wanted" by unpacking the cry for the region through Isaiah 64. He offered three invitations to help us move from complacency, to concern, to crying our for God to intervene and reveal Himself in our region based on the pattern evident in Scripture. We must discern the season we are in, and develop a desperation for God to come have His way in every area of the world around us.

This Sunday, guest Pastor Lee Cummings continued our teaching series, "God Comes Where He's Wanted" by teaching on the importance of building altars through our lives. Through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus, God allows His people to be living temples of the Holy Spirit, invites us to walk in holy confidence, and equips us to invade the darkness of our world with His glory. Our Living the Liturgy campaign is still open for giving through the end of January. We encourage you to prayerfully consider joining us in giving to our Living the Liturgy campaign at church.nyc/give. Click here to listen to Heart on Fire by Emily Lindquist, a song inspired by what God is doing in our community at Church of the City New York.

Sunday was a historic day in the life of Church of the City as we installed the men and women of our first Elder Cohort as official Elders in our church. After a year long process, the Elders were commissioned at all four of our Sunday Services. We are so excited they have each joined this office of leadership, and look forward to the care, guidance, and wisdom they will provide as they shepherd our community.

This Sunday Pastor Jon Tyson continued our teaching series "God Comes Where He's Wanted" with a teaching on cultivating the cry of our homes. Whether we are parents, married, or single, we can make the cry of our homes, "God I want you here," and be a part of raising up the next generation in faith. We are being called to embrace this heart of prayer, and take up responsibility for the transfer faith to the generation to come. Our Living the Liturgy campaign is still open for giving through the end of January. We encourage you to prayerfully consider joining us in giving to our Living the Liturgy campaign at church.nyc/give. Click here to listen to Heart on Fire by Emily Lindquist, a song inspired by what God is doing in our community at Church of the City New York.

This Sunday Pastor Jon Tyson continued our teaching series "God Comes Where He's Wanted" by diving into the practice of cultivating our hearts in such a way that they would be a place God delights to dwell. Our Living the Liturgy campaign is still open for giving through the end of January. We encourage you to prayerfully consider joining us in giving to our Living the Liturgy campaign at church.nyc/give. Click here to listen to Heart on Fire by Emily Lindquist, a song inspired by what God is doing in our community at Church of the City New York.

This Sunday Pastor Jon Tyson began our first teaching series of the New Year, "God Comes Where He's Wanted", that will focus on cultivating the altars of our hearts, homes, church, and city in hopes of ushering revival through an outpouring of the Holy Spirit. Our Living the Liturgy campaign is still open for giving through the end of January. We enoucourage you to prayerfully consider joining us in giving to our Living the Liturgy campaign at church.nyc/give. Click here to listen to Sanctuary by Emily Lindquist, a song inspired by what God is doing in our community at Church of the City New York.