Rise City Church Podcast

When life feels like a battle you can’t win, it’s easy to believe that trying harder will finally bring peace. But what if the breakthrough you need doesn’t come from more control, but from surrender? King Jehoshaphat faced an army he couldn’t defeat, yet instead of drawing a sword, he lifted a song. As Judah began to worship, God began to work.

In a world that says, “You got this,” Scripture declares, “The battle is not yours, but...

Paul ends his letter to the Thessalonians with a rapid-fire list of commands—a vision for what life in the church should look like while we wait for Jesus to return. It’s like he’s saying, “Don’t just sit back and count the days—live like the Kingdom is already here.”

In these final verses, Paul paints a picture of a church that loves well, serves faithfully, rejoices often, listens to the Spirit, grows in holiness, and stays conne...

Most people assume spiritual growth just happens over time. But the truth is, everyone is being spiritually formed by something — our families, habits, culture, and desires are shaping who we’re becoming. In Ephesians 4, Paul draws a bold line between the “old self,” shaped by sin and self-reliance, and the “new self,” shaped by the Spirit. You can’t keep wearing your old clothes and expect a new life to fit. Transformation doesn’t...

We live in a world that lulls us to sleep—spiritually numb, distracted, desensitized. But Paul raises a warning flag in 1 Thessalonians 5: The Day of the Lord is coming like a thief in the night. It will not be announced. It will not be delayed. And most won’t be ready. This day—the final, climactic return of Christ—will be a day of justice, when God deals decisively with sin, rebellion, and evil. But for those in Christ, judgment ...

Something in us knows this world isn’t the end. We feel it at funerals, in the chaos of the headlines, and in the quiet moments when we wonder, is there more than this? The early believers in Thessalonica wrestled with the same questions—watching their friends die for their faith, wondering what came next. Paul writes to them—and to us—to say: there is hope beyond the grave. Because Jesus died and rose again, death doesn’t get the ...

There’s something stirring in our time. People are restless, searching, and waking up with a hunger they can’t quite name. All around us we see signs of spiritual awakening—new faces walking through church doors, lives asking deeper questions, hearts opening to God. These are seeds of revival being planted. The question is: will we recognize the moment and nurture what God is doing in us, our families, and our church?

In 1 Thessalo...

Some moments in our lives are watershed moments—where tragedy strikes so deep we know our world will never be the same. This week was one of those moments in our Nation. The public assassination of Charlie Kirk is now etched into our national memory. Not a head of state, not a military leader—but a voice for truth, faith, and conviction, cut down not for political position because of Biblical conviction. This moment is more than po...

What keeps you standing when life pushes hard against you? For the Thessalonian church, following Jesus meant being misunderstood, rejected, and even persecuted. Paul’s encouragement was simple but profound: you are chosen by God, and that changes everything. To the fearful, God says you are loved. To the scattered, He says you belong. To the weary, He promises your future is glory. Your faith isn’t built on your strength but on G...

When life feels stacked against you, where do you turn? The Thessalonian church was small, new, and surrounded by opposition. Paul couldn’t stay to guide them, but he wrote back reminding them that God had already given them the weapons they needed to stand strong in a world against them: prayer, the Word, and the power of the Spirit. These aren’t flashy or obvious tools, but they connect us to a strength far beyond ourselves.

Tune...

Ephesians 5 shows us that marriage is not just about husband and wife, but meant to be a picture of something bigger: how Christ loves His Bride, the Church. His love is agape - sacrificial, faithful, and steady. It calls us to lay down pride, to forgive, to serve, and to live in a way that points back to Him.

This matters because we live in a world where it’s easy to walk away when things get hard. But Jesus never walks away from ...

We live in a world filled with broken walls—families fractured, cities divided, hope worn thin. Too often we look at the rubble and assume it’s someone else’s job to rebuild. But in God’s Kingdom, a holy burden always comes before breakthrough. Nehemiah’s story reminds us that transformation starts when we allow God to move our hearts and then move our hands. Renewal is not for the gifted few; it’s for everyday people...

In 1 Samuel 16:1–13, God bypasses the impressive and chooses David, the overlooked shepherd boy, to be king. It’s a reminder that He sees what people miss—He looks at the heart. In every generation, God is raising up leaders who may not fit our expectations. They might be young, unpolished, and unproven, but they are already chosen, gifted, and anointed for His purposes.

The next generation is not the future of the Church—they are ...

What if God’s plan to reach your neighborhood, your workplace, your city… is you? In Luke 10, Jesus sends out ordinary people with an extraordinary mission—to go ahead of Him and prepare the way. No titles. No platforms. Just faith, authority, and obedience. This is a wake-up call: you and I aren’t on the sidelines of God’s story—we are the strategy. There is no Plan B. Heaven is still sending, and the harvest is stil...

As we approach the end of Romans, Paul’s letter, his most important theological work, closes in a fascinating way. He pulls back the curtain to reveal the people who’ve been partnering with him in spreading the Gospel and building the Kingdom. We notice something powerful: From the beginning of the church, women have been active participants in building the church spreading the kingdom. Women were essential partners in advancing th...

The reason we keep coming back to the Gospel, week after week, day after day, is because we never outgrow our need for it. Paul’s words in Romans 15 remind us that even mature believers need bold reminders of grace. The Gospel isn’t just how we begin our faith...it’s how we keep going. It’s the power that fuels purpose, passion, and mission. When we forget it, we drift. But when we preach it to ourselves daily, we stay tuned into t...

In Romans 14, Paul reminds us that unity is more important than uniformity. We’re called to accept each other, even when we disagree on secondary matters, like food or specific religious practices. These are disputable matters that shouldn’t divide us but instead should be points of strength as we come together in the gospel.

Living in unity means relinquishing our "rightness" and putting love first. It’s not about being right, but...