Last week, we met Stephen, a leader in the Jerusalem church. He was chosen to help care for widows and preserve unity within the church. In Acts 6:8–7:60, Luke tells us more of Stephen’s story. Like other church leaders of his day, he is falsely accused, arrested, and put on trial. When questioned, he courageously stands firm in his convictions, even though doing so only intensifies the danger around him.

The situation escalates quickly, and a furious mob stones Stephen. Talk about a high-pressure moment.

In Acts 6:1–7, we see the first recorded church conflict. And no—it wasn’t about the color of the carpet or whether deviled eggs are appropriate for a church fellowship meal.

So what happened?

The church had been generously giving to meet needs, including providing food for widows. But a problem arose: the Greek-speaking widows were being overlooked in the daily distribution of food, while the Aramaic-speaking widows were receiving their food. What seems like a simple oversight that could easily be remedied began to grow into a much larger issue.

How did the early church respond? And what can we learn from their example about handling conflict within the body of Christ?

Global Need:

Hurricane Melissa has caused devastating damage across the Caribbean, particularly in Jamaica, Cuba, and Haiti. Our partners at Send Relief are responding by providing power generators, meals, clothing, and temporary shelter. There is an urgent need for 1,000 water filters, and we can help meet that goal.

A gift of $25 to Send Relief supplies one water filter. Would you consider serving our global neighbors by helping provide clean water?

You can give here, just be sure Send Relief is selected in the dropdown.

Local Need:

Many of our neighbors will soon be impacted by the suspension of SNAP benefits. We’ve reached out to our partners at Storehouse Ministries, Dowell Elementary, and Cheatham Hill Elementary to identify how we can best serve. We’ll keep you updated as specific needs arise, but for now, Storehouse has a critical need for peanut butter.

We’re asking every family, college student, young adult, and senior adult to bring at least one jar of peanut butter this week to help meet that need.

As we continue through Acts, we’ll look at how the gospel didn’t just change what believers gave, but who they were. Join us as Pastor Mike teaches from Acts 4:32–36 on how Gospel Generosity transforms hearts, builds unity, and points the world to Jesus.

We’re especially excited to worship alongside our friends from Comunidad de Fe and experience a glimpse of the scene described in Revelation 7—

“from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb… crying out with a loud voice,

‘Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!’”

If you’ve never joined us for a joint service with Comunidad de Fe, you’re in for a treat. You’ll experience worship in both English and Spanish, Abner preaching in Spanish with his wife, Jessica, translating into English, and a joyful picture of the global Church—a diverse family of believers lifting high the name of Jesus together.

It’s pretty amazing to think about. Something so powerful had happened that it completely reshaped the way they lived. 

In the midst of all the excitement and confusion, Peter stood up and explained to the crowd what they were witnessing. This week, as we continue in Acts 2, we’ll see Peter quickly shift gears. After clarifying what was happening, he tells them why it was happening and how they need to respond.

In Acts 2, we find the origin story of God’s new people—the church. If you want to know how a skinny, nerdy Peter Parker became a web-slinging, wall-climbing, friendly neighborhood hero, you go back to Marvel Comic’s Amazing Fantasy #15, published in 1962. But if you want to know how a small group of uneducated, ordinary men and women ignited a worldwide movement that continues to this day, Acts 2 is the place to start.

Have you ever been given a task that felt far too big for you? In Acts 1, Jesus leaves his small band of disciples with an overwhelming mission: spread the word about me to the entire world. No doubt they felt unprepared and outmatched. But Jesus also gave them a promise—they would not be alone. He would send the Holy Spirit to empower them every step of the way. 

Wherever you find yourself, relieved or reluctant, I can’t wait to see you this Sunday as we gather as a church family to worship, pray, and hear from God’s Word. It’s one of my favorite weekly rhythms.

This Sunday, we continued our series, Stories and the Storyteller, with the Parable of the Good Samaritan. This well-known story of a Samaritan who generously helps a stranger in need is so familiar that the word “Samaritan” has become shorthand for someone who shows compassion. We often hear it as a gentle nudge toward kindness to others.

But for Jesus’s original audience, the story was anything but gentle. It was radical, culturally provocative and deeply challenging. The hero of the story was someone they would have instinctively viewed with contempt, not admiration.

Some of us are stumblers—we weren’t really looking for God, but grace surprised us. Others are seekers—our hearts have longed for truth, and we’ve searched until we found it. And behind it all is the God who sells it all—the One who gave up everything in Christ so that we might belong to Him.

Whether you stumbled into faith or have been seeking for years, this passage reminds us that God treasures you more than you can imagine.

This Sunday, we looked Colossians 4 to discover the people, practices, and power God provides to help us live out our faith.

But Scripture offers a different perspective.

From the very beginning—back in the Garden—human beings were created to work. It was part of God's good design. Yet somewhere along the way, that purpose got distorted.

This week, as we continue through Colossians chapter 3, we’ll hear the apostle Paul remind us of a powerful truth: work, when done for the Lord, is actually a form of worship.

I love when our churches come together to make much of Jesus in both English and Spanish. It’s a beautiful picture of how He unites people from all walks of life into one multiethnic family of faith. We’ll be looking at Colossians 3:17 and asking the question: What does it mean to do whatever in the name of Jesus?

But what does putting on your new identity actually look like?

This week, Jason Keel will walk us through Colossians 3:12–17, where Paul paints a clear picture of what resurrection life wears. It's a life clothed in compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, patience, and, above all, love. It’s a life marked by peace, gratitude, and the Word of Christ dwelling richly in us. Come ready to be challenged and encouraged as we explore what it means to truly put on Christ.

We'd love for you to listen to this week's sermon as we were reminded of our true identity in Christ and how that shapes every facet of our lives.

In Colossians 2, Paul shares the great lengths that our savior went to so that we might be saved. This week, we will look at what Jesus has done on our behalf in Colossians 2:11-15.

I’d love for you to join us this week!

In Colossians 2, Paul gave a warning to the Colossian Church. He urged them to not be deceived by the world around them; instead imploring them to walk in Christ. The fullness of God and truth.

Now imagine you looked over next to you to see someone blasting music, singing their guts, and experiencing what looks like real joy… in a traffic jam! We’d probably all draw the same conclusion, this is a strange time to be joyful. 

In Colossians 1:24-27, Paul makes a very strange statement, “I rejoice in my sufferings…” What?!?! Suffering is a strange thing to take joy in, even more strange than being joyful in a traffic jam.

But then, three days later, Joe crawled back into camp. He had survived. Despite frostbite, exhaustion, infection, and permanent damage to his leg, Joe was alive. His story is almost too incredible to believe.

We’ve all heard stories like this—accounts of survival or hope that seem impossible. But perhaps the most unbelievable story of all is the resurrection of Jesus.

Jesus was crucified by professional Roman executioners, buried in a tomb, and three days later he rose from the dead. As unbelievable as that may sound, even more astonishing is the claim that his resurrection has the power to transform lives—even today, 2,000 years later.

Whether you give, go, or pray, you’re a vital part of the Great Pursuit—a shared commitment to take the gospel to the ends of the earth. Let’s finish this final week of Neighbors and Nations with diligence and zeal, trusting that God will use our obedience to make an eternal impact. Invite someone to join you this Sunday, ask God how He wants you to respond, and let’s be a people who live on mission—right where we are, and to the very ends of the earth.

We are engaged in this campaign because we believe that God is on a mission to rescue people from sin so that they can know Him. Amazingly, God invites His people to join Him in His mission. This means you have a place in God's mission in the world.

Last Sunday, we heard about the incredible ways God is at work around the globe through the International Mission Board. This Sunday, we’ll explore how we can join God on His mission in our everyday lives. God has a plan for all of His people, and that includes you! 

However, in Colossians 1:21, Paul shifts the focus from this grand narrative to the personal work of Jesus in the lives of individuals with a simple, yet profound phrase: "and you." The reconciliation He brings is not just for the universe at large, but for each and every one of us, right here, right now.

As we look at Colossians 1:21-23 this Sunday, we’ll explore this beautiful and life-changing truth—Jesus' work isn’t just theoretical or distant. It's for you. 

That’s a little like reading Colossians 1:15-20. It’s one of the most awe-inspiring descriptions of Jesus in all of Scripture—His supremacy, His power, His role in creation and redemption. But it also has layers that can leave us wondering, What does this really mean?

But, personally experiencing a rivalry in everyday life is not nearly as fun. It can be hard to confidently decide who or what wins in the competition for our attention, our allegiance, and our affection. Work vs. family; God vs. country; right vs. wrong are hard tensions to navigate.

This Sunday morning, we are starting a new series, Unrivaled, a study of the book of Colossians. The Colossians were not strangers to rivalry. In fact, when Paul writes this letter to them, they are under some serious pressure to conform to particular social, cultural, and political exceptions. There is the pull to put all of their confidence in the power and promises of the Roman Empire. There is the pull to adopt a variety of mystical, cultural practices if they want to truly know God. While some of the specifics are different, the heart of this issues are similar to what we experience on a daily basis.

In Psalm 23, David says he gets assurance from both looking backward and looking forward. As he looks back at his life he clearly sees God has consistently been good and merciful to him. He looks forward with assurance that the Good Shepherd will lead him all the way home.

However, Psalm 23 gives us a very different picture of God. In verse five, the good shepherd becomes a lavish host, who welcomes his guests to his table and serves them with grace and kindness.

Where do we turn when we find ourselves face to face with trouble? Is experiencing hardship a sign that the Lord has abandoned us? Did we end up in this valley because we left our shepherd? Psalm 23 points us to the answers to these questions and more.

The story is more likely made up, but the point is powerful. We are not just a busy people living in a busy culture , but we want others to know that we’re busy, too!

David describes his life differently in Psalm 23:2-3. He says the LORD leads him to places of calm, peace, restoration, and rest, not frantic paced busyness. It sounds nice, but is that sort of life possible for us? 

It’s also good to be reminded in a new year that we are not in complete control over our lives. Much of what happens to us and around us is out of our hands. Our lives are a complex web that include the decisions of others, unexpected circumstances, and ever changing relationships. We need more than just our own good choices - we need a good and trustworthy guide to help us navigate the complexity of our life. We need to make good choices and we need wise leadership.

In Psalm 23, David acknowledges that life is complex- full of hardship and suffering, as well as goodness and blessing. He, using the metaphor of a shepherd and his sheep, writes a poem that not only captures the heart of the human condition, but also points us to hope. We can have a good shepherd who walks with us and guides us through every season of our lives.

John, one of Jesus’s disciples, tells us why. He writes, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only son…” Christmas is reminds us that God’s motivation is His love for his world.

Over the next four Sundays, we will gather together as a church to observe Advent. We'll do many of the same things we do every Sunday - we'll sing, we'll pray, and we'll hear from God's Word. We'll also do a few different things, like lighting candles and reading traditional Advent Scripture readings.

I’m not sure if that story actually happened, but the story does illustrate a significant truth. Grace permeates the story of the Bible. The teaching that God would initiate a relationship with people based on his love for them and not what they might provide for him is one of the most powerful truths contained in the Bible.

Last Sunday we also saw that justification by faith produces something - we are at peace with God. We have a settled and secure relationship with God because we have been declared to be in the right with God based on Jesus’s work, not our work. No more looking over our shoulders wondering if God is against us.

This Sunday we continued in Romans 5 and see another attribute of justification, a resilient hope.

This Sunday we are back on track with our journey through the storyline of the Bible. There is tension in the church in Rome between Jewish and Gentile believers. In his letter to the Romans, Paul addresses the tension by showing that both groups have the same deep need for a savior and points to the only means to salvation, faith alone in Christ alone. As we will continue to see right doctrine (which just means teaching) practically impacts our lives and our relationships. 

But there’s more! The claim of the Scripture is that Jesus’s resurrection from the dead is also the key to unlocking the meaning of our own lives. This story we’ve been reading actually has massive implications in our everyday lives. I’d love for you to join us this Sunday as we see how Jesus’s resurrection helps us understand the Bible and, more importantly, understand our own lives.

But, one character stands out. A thief, who was crucified next to Jesus, seems to see clearly exactly who Jesus is, despite the circumstances, and this man asks Jesus to save him.

Over the past few weeks as we’ve read the New Testament accounts of His life, Jesus identifies Himself in many different ways; the True King, the Beloved Son, and the Bread of Life. In John 15, Jesus calls Himself the Vine, and He uses that metaphor to explain how He is connected to us and how He connects with us. 

In John 6, Jesus miraculously feeds a massive crowd with only five loaves of bread and two small fish. But, when the crowd tracks Jesus down the following day, it becomes clear that they completely missed the point that Jesus was trying to make. He intended the miracle to show the crowd something significant about himself, but they were focusing on the free food. Jesus is the one saying: “No, you’re missing the point.”

Join us this week as we examine Jesus response to Satan tempting him in the wilderness.

One of God’s prophets, Elijah, challenges the prophets of Baal to an epic showdown. Two sacrifices will be prepared, but not set on fire. Instead, the prophets of Baal will pray and ask Baal to answer by setting their sacrifice on fire and Elijah will pray and ask the LORD to set his sacrifice on fire. The one who answers will prove himself to be the one, true God.

Yet, this abundance of information has not helped us grow in wisdom. We still struggle with navigating the world, our relationships with others, and being at peace with ourselves. We need, what people for generations have needed, wisdom.

While we may not have sinned in the same way that David did, all of us have felt the weight of our sin. We’ve seen the pain we’ve caused others. We’ve felt the separation that sin causes in our relationship with God. The question is what do we do when we massively fall short? In Psalm 51, David writes a deeply personal and brutally honest prayer of repentance. This Sunday we’re turn to Psalm 51 to help us understand how we can walk in repentance regardless of what we’ve done.

There is a kingdom that transcends the bounds of this world though. One not shaken by war or the uncertainty of election season.  A forever kingdom with a forever king on a forever throne.

This week, we’re going to explore how this story helps us understand the bigger story God is telling and how this story helps us navigate our daily lives.

Each week, we’ll be be asking you to do 3 things: Pray, Give, and Go. Every Sunday, we’ll give you ways you can pray for and serve with our missions partners. This year, we’ve set a goal to raise $25,000 to support our partners here in Cobb Country, across the county, and around the world. We’re asking that you sacrificially give over the next four week to help meet the needs of those on the ground with local partners, NAMB, and IMB.

This week, we started with a joint service with our friends at Comunidad de Fe. If you’ve not been with us for a joint service before, you’re in for a treat. Our joint Sundays are some of my favorite Sundays of the year.

After God rescued His people from slavery in Egypt, he gave them a set of rules that would define how they were to relate to God. These rules are known as the 10 Commandments and you can read about them in Exodus 20. This Sunday, Owen taught us about the 10 Commandments and how they help us understand how we relate to God today.

In Exodus 3, we find that God has a plan to rescue His people out of slavery and to bring them to a place of flourishing. The plan involves a new character, Moses, who is riddled with self-doubt, but the Lord calls him and promises to go with him. I’d love for you to listen to this Sunday's message as learned more about God’s character from his interaction with Moses.

Like Kintsugi, in scripture we see God weaving the brokenness of this world into the grand tapestry of redemptive history. As we continue our walk this year through the story of the bible, we will see this truth played out over and over again. This week we will see that the descendants of Abraham are a mess worthy of reality TV. But, God will rescue a young man named Joseph from this brokenness so that His promise to Abraham will continue to be fulfilled.

Then, in Genesis 22, God asks Abraham to do the unthinkable; sacrifice Isaac. How could any father agree to sacrifice his son? How can God keep his promise of blessing if Isaac is dead? How are we to make sense of what God asks of Abraham? This passage is one of the most controversial in all of Scripture.

In Genesis 12, we meet a new character, Abram. God initiates a relationship with Abram and promises to bless him with a great land, a great name, and a great nation. God also tells Abram why. He will bless Abram so that Abram will be a blessing to others. God has a purpose behind blessing and it is not the accumulation of things.

This Sunday we will turn our attention to Genesis 3, which explains what went wrong in our world and what is wrong in our heart.

But doesn’t it seem like there must be more to than just family celebrations and great music? Why is Christmas filled with so much wonder? Why is it any different  than other holidays? Why don’t we experience the same wonder on President’s Day or Thanksgiving?

This Sunday, we’ll finish our series through John 1, by looking at the why behind Christmas and why it is so wonderful.

In John 1:14 we read about Jesus coming into the world by taking on flesh. He became like us. That is an incredibly mysterious and wonderful idea to explore. Beyond that, he drew near to us by entering our world. The image John offers conveys the idea of Jesus moving into a community. One translation literally says, "The Word became flesh and took up residence among us (HCSB)." As you can imagine, God moving in completely changes the neighborhood.

Join us on Sunday as we consider what it means that God himself entered into our world as one of us. Things will never be the same.

This week we’ll see that Jesus came as the light of men, or he came to illuminate for us who God is and who we are.

I’d love for you to join us this week as Jason Keel, our Director of Discipleship kicks off our Advent series.

In Matthew 7:13-23, Jesus address the importance of knowing what path we are on and where we are heading. There is an easy way, simply following the turn by turn directions of those around us, but that way he says leads to destruction. There is another way, the way of Jesus! His way is harder, but leads to life.

This week, Mitchell Bagley will be leading us through this section of Scripture.

In Matthew 6:19-34, Jesus address how our searching leads us to accumulating stuff we don’t need, not seeing the world clearly, and even being consumed by worry. He says the answer isn’t to stop seeking, but to change the object of our search.

This week, Pastor Mike led us through Matthew  6:1-6 and 6:16-18.  In our text this week we will see Jesus take three common Christian practices and show us how useless they are with the wrong motives.

We are continuing studying the Sermon on the Mount this week by examining Matthew 5:38-48. Jesus challenges our natural response to get even and to hate our enemies by commanding his followers to meet opposition with generosity and love. Again, he is asking us to be ‘whole’ disciples, who don’t focus only on our external behaviors, but who long to live according to God’s design with all our heart, mind, and strength.

In Matthew 5:27-32, Jesus continues to show us that just ‘skating by’ is not what God had in mind when He gave us His commandments. The purpose of knowing what God requires isn’t so we can do the bare minimum. We’re good at trying to justify ourselves by appealing to the bare minimum - “It’s not like I’ve killed someone!” Or in the case of our text this week, “Of course I’m good, I’m not sleeping with someone' else’s wife!” But, as we will see this week, God wants us to grow in goodness so that our hearts, not just our actions, look more and more like Jesus.

In Matthew 5:21-26, begins reframing God’s commandments for his listeners. He asks us to consider the origin of one of the most heinous of sins, murder. Where does murder come from? What is it’s origin? He teaches us that murder actually originates with anger in our hearts.

His purpose is two fold. He is going to explain who He is in relation to the teaching of the Old Testament. Then, he is going to explain to his listeners what God requires from citizens of his kingdom.

First, because of who delivered it: Jesus. When you back up your teaching with a resurrection from the dead, people tend to listen to what you say. Secondly, though, is because of what the sermon contains: A powerful invitation to a counter-cultural and counter-intuitive way of living in the world. Jesus paints a picture of God’s kingdom and asks us if we want live as citizens of it.

We are surrounded by hundreds of ways to distract ourselves from reality, from ancient practice of drinking excessively to the modern habit of staring at our phones. But, it makes sense, right? Reality can be a brutal place. It’s easier to escape it than to make sense of it.

The book of Micah serves up a healthy dose of reality. Micah exposes injustice, corruption, and our own affection for idolatry. It is brutal. Yet, Micah also powerfully points us to a better hope. Instead of escaping through hundreds of distractions, Micah encourages us to trust God and his promises. He says that God’s people will see His goodness, even in times of darkness. I’d love for you to join us as we kick off our new series, Micah: Seeing God’s Goodness in the Darkness.

Paul starts Romans 12 with an encouragement to be transformed in our worship, what we value above all else. This is not a self-help transformation of our bodies or our business, but a complete overhaul of our identity. Then, he spends the rest of the chapter outlining how this transformation happens in the context of a community of faith.

The answer is the Spirit. The Holy Spirit works in us to transform us into people of character. Paul says like an apple tree bears apples or a peach tree bears peaches, so, also,  the Spirit in the life of a believe begins to bear certain fruit. 

In Galatians the question is what happens if we add to the gospel? The answer is we lose everything! Adding to the gospel actually destroys what makes the gospel message unique and effective. We, just like the churches in Galatia, must make sure that we are clear on the good news of Jesus and why it is such good news.

For the next six weeks, we're going to take a straight forward look at the Bible. We'll answer questions about what the Bible is, how we should read it, how we got our English translations, what we do with difficult passages, and why Christians say the Bible is foundational to their faith.

Also, this week, the Sexual Abuse Task Force of the Southern Baptist Convention released report detailing the findings of a eight month third party investigation. The report outlines findings of institutional cover up and neglect that are heartbreaking and sobering. 

I have found myself this week overwhelmed by grief and sorrow for the families that have experienced tragic loss and for the survivors of abuse. This Sunday, we changed directions from our planned sermon series in order to turn to God in lament during this time of sorrow and to address how we move forward with hope.

As we continue our series in Mark we see Jesus come down the mountain from His tranfiguration and begin His journey to the cross. Along the way He begins preparing His followers for a life without Him. He begins their preparation with a lesson in faith. This week, what we'll see in Mark 9 is an amazing story of what happens when our faith is misplaced, followed by a demonstration of God's power when just a little bit of faith is pointed in the right direction.

That’s the heart of Advent. It is standing in the middle of the winter with a smile on your face and hope in your heart, saying, “Winter is here, but Christmas is coming.”

The Message of the King is the second sermon in our series The True King, a series where we dive into Jesus' ministry on Earth according to the Gospel of Mark.