LIFEGATE DENVER SERMONS

<p>Our Connections Pastor Lis Cheesman leads us through the second to last week of the CITIZEN series in a fairly difficult passage regarding bondservants and masters.</p>

<p>Watch as Pastor Nirup and Hannah Alphonse lead us through the last part of Ephesians 5 regarding marriage as defined by Paul to the church of Ephesus.</p>

<p>CITIZEN Week 12 takes a look at what it means to be spirit filled as an individual and as the church. Pastor Nirup walks us through some of the differences in lifestyle and behavior based on a spirit filled life.</p>

<p>Pastor Nirup is back for CITIZEN Week 11!<br><br>Watch as he leads us through the beginning of Ephesians 5, discussing how the Lord works by exposing hurt and wounds in order to heal them.</p>

<p>In week 10 of our CITIZEN Series, Andrew Morrison, a member of the LIFEGATE Teaching team, leads us through what practical Christianity looks like. Reflecting on actions, seeing where there may be sin even when it is unrecognized, and seeing how sin can be so easily hidden by culture and accepted as appropriate are all taught in this message.</p>

<p>With a little spin on the CITIZEN Series setting, Pastor Trevor delivers a bit more of a personal message due to the significance of Ephesians 4:17-24. Paul walks the Ephesians through unity in the body of Christ as well as what maturity looks like in the body.</p>

<p>Watch as Pastor Trevor leads us into the second half of Ephesians, talking about the transition Paul makes in his letter to Ephesus, moving from conceptual topics if the gospel towards the actual practice of Christianity.</p>

<p>Watch as Catherine Ojala and Nirup Alphonse talk about the second half of Ephesians 3, wrapping up the first half of our CITIZEN Series at LIFEGATE!</p>

<p>The church is the community of God on earth made up of the CITIZENS of Heaven. We are, therefore, called into God's eternal promise for us, as well as to share that promise of everlasting love and dwelling in His presence. Watch as Pastor Nirup takes us through CITIZEN - Week 6</p>

<p>Ephesians 2:11-22 goes into some of the separations that the early church was experiencing based on race and other cultural backgrounds. We are not called to be a church divided that only practices unity in theory, but rather in action. Watch as Connections Pastor, Lis Cheesman, takes us through CITIZEN - Week 5</p>

<p>The Citizen of Heaven is alive in Christ and active in the Kingdom. Therefore, as Citizens, this is our call, to be consistently engaged, consistently growing, and always working with a kingdom mindset. God has provided us with a person to live in and a purpose to die for. Watch as Pastor Nirup takes us through our fourth week of CITIZEN.</p>

<p>So often, we, as citizens of Heaven, forget who we belong to. We forget whose we are, and we desire only the benefits of the Kingdom. The truth is, we cannot have the benefits of the Kingdom without the King. Watch as Pastor Trevor leads us through the third week of our CITIZEN Series.</p>

<p>The book of Ephesians is primarily a letter written to the church to help the people of God have their identity formed in Christ. In the opening verses to the church Paul reminds us that we are citizens of heaven and that we have our identity anchored in the kingdom and we have the assurance of that inheritance.</p>

<p>In the first two verses in his letter to the Ephesian church, Paul reminds the people of God’s redeeming work in them and once again calls them deeper into their identity as saints and citizens in Christ. <br><br>In this message, Pastor Nirup unpacks what it looks like to live a life that is congruent to what we as Christians believe and to do so under allegiance to King Jesus.</p>

<p>Who am I? Why am I here? What does this all mean? Where am I going? These are the four central questions of life that have been asked for centuries. They hold within them the quest for meaning, morality, purpose, pleasure, desire, understanding and destiny. To these questions Jesus enters the human story not simply to answer but to become the answer. <br><br>The Purpose Of Proximity Is To Bring You Into The Presence Of God<br><br>Huge thanks to our friends, Passion City Church, for allowing us to use their footage of Ravi Zacharias preaching at their conference. Check out Passion's channel here: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCzT4tQfAZEsm_yMql_10dpg" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCzT4tQfAZEsm_yMql_10dpg</a></p>

<p>One of the most profound statements Jesus makes is when he says, "I am the good shepherd." This is not simply a remark that Jesus makes off the cuff. Rather, it is a powerful invitation into the protection and provision of God's promise.</p>

<p>Our identity is not in our shortcomings, or our flaws, or the ways that the world defines us. Our Identity is in the Lord. Watch as Catherine takes us through a portion of Ruth and talks about the redemption of our identity.</p>

<p>When Jesus says that words, "I Am" He, in no uncertain terms is declaring that He is in fact, God. However, He is not a distant God. Rather, He brings to us the proximity of God Himself. In John 10 Jesus says that He is the "door." In this message, we learn the truth of what that means and by living in who Jesus is we can experience the peace that Jesus offers us in this life.</p>

<p>The world we live in is dark. This is not meant to be a challenging concept to wrap our minds around. Yet, we often fail to embrace a truer reality: Christ is the light of the world. This week we dive into Scripture’s witness of God breaking into the darkness through Christ, our true light.<br><br>Watch as Pastor Trevor shares a powerful message on Jesus being the light of the world.</p>

<p>The Good News of the Gospel is not that Jesus came to make bad people good but to make dead people alive. God loves you. Because He loves you He sent His Son Jesus to invite you into life with him.<br><br>Jesus Christ is the Son of God who lived a perfect life and died on the cross for your sins. He was buried in a tomb but three days later He walked out defeating sin and death. In His resurrection, He offers you a new life in God. This decision to believe is not simply to acknowledge it but to begin the journey of walking with Jesus every day. It is an invitation to surrender your life to Him.<br><br>Do you believe that Jesus Christ died on the cross and rose from the dead and through Him, you can have life? Do you believe He is calling you to walk with Him?</p>

<p>Isn't it odd that the first "I am" statement that Jesus makes is comparing himself to bread? But it is a very strategic comparison. Bread is universal, it is symbolic, it is something that everyone understands culturally, gluten or not. It is something everyone has in their homes, something that is close, somethings that we depend on. Jesus is the same way. He is close, he is familiar, he is known.</p>

<p>1 Thessalonians 5:16-18<br><br>How do you pray in a pandemic? If we are honest, praying in times that are difficult does not come easy to us. Yet, God's Word reminds us to "rejoice, pray and give thanks" in all seasons. In this message Pastor Nirup encourages us how to pray during a pandemic with the "frequency and intimacy of heaven."</p>

<p>We are living in truly uncertain times. While the tactic of the enemy is to try and grip us with fear we know that God is sovereign and in control over all things. In this message Pastor Nirup teaches from Psalm 121 and what it means to live in the promises of God in times like today. Our hope is found in Christ and Christ alone.</p>

<p>Hospitality is a necessary part of walking with God. We see that Paul, while he was in prison, still opened up his doors and still invited people in. He didn't have the greatest situation, he was certainly not living in luxury, he was living in constraint, and working to live in that constraint. But he still practiced a consistent and hospitable heart. This is how we should act. Watch as Pastor Nirup brings us deeper into the topic of hospitality.</p>