Downtown Community Church

In thinking of the woman who poured her jar of alabaster on Jesus' feet, we think of the event as an extravagant form of worship. But what led her, a prostitute with great sin (leading to greater forgiveness), to do this for Jesus? Join Pastor Ben Kaempfer in Luke 7:36-50 to examine this story from Jesus' perfect perspective of grace and truth, especially in the presence of the self-righteous Pharisees.

This week...

In tough situations, we tend to favor either giving grace to others or giving truth to others. However, it's important that we balance both because they are equally important. Jesus, who is full of both grace AND truth, provides a blueprint for how to live. If we're going to look like Jesus, we need the Gospel to fully penetrate our hearts. Join Pastor Ben Kaempfer in Luke 6:43-44 and John 1:14-17 to  study why grace and ...

So often, we wait to BECOME “that” person, when we should always BE “that” person. And you know who “that” person you're thinking of is. David and Goliath is a popular Bible story that is often portrayed as a testament of God making the impossible possible. But what if we thought about it as an encouragement to be faithful to God in the here and now? Join Pastor Ben Kaempfer in 1 Samuel 17:1-51 to dive into how David wouldn’t ...

When our image of ourselves is different than what God has in store for us, there is a tension that we feel that almost always reveals an idol. That idol could be the sport you play, the club you're in, or in both Gideon's context and in many of our contexts, our comfort. Join Pastor Ben Kaempfer in our study of Judges 6-7:2 to examine the way that God used Gideon's context and calling to reveal the idols in his life...

Sometimes we have to make decisions that make no sense to the world, but we know that it's what God has called us to. Moses is no stranger to this. When he left the comfort of living in Pharoah's palace that he grew up in, he was commissioned by God to be a shepherd for 40 years. Sounding crazy already? It gets crazier. We all know Moses as the man who parted the Red Sea, but it all started with him leaning into God'...

When we read stories in Scripture about people God used, we can put them on a pedestal or think of them as magical storybook characters. But if we think of them as unattainable it actually leaves us discouraged.   

Join us as Pastor Ben demystifies these characters, to instead be attainable role models of not perfect faith but resilient faith. This will change the way we read the Bible to instead be encouraged by our incre...

The story of Jacob and Esau fulfills the prophecy of “the older will serve the younger” because in his hungry desperation, Esau sold his inheritance to Jacob, his younger brother, for a bowl of lentils. He had a temporary appetite that needed to be satiated immediately, and we can definitely relate to this idea in that we constantly are going to temporary satisfaction found on our phones or in our relationships instead of going to ...

Any relationship has its ebbs and flows, typically based on the assumptions that we bring to the table. We all have assumptions in every relationship, and we tend to assume we’re right. In the book of Genesis, both Cain and Abel made a sacrifice to God, but Abel’s sacrifice had more reverence to God so He preferred it. Cain was angered by this because he had an assumption that if he did good, God owed him. This situation is not muc...

Lots of believers talk about faith but often don't really know what it means to have faith.  Scripture tells us that faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance in what we do not see.  But what Scripture also tells us is that faith as small as a mustard seed can move mountains. We might not have much faith, but we can use inductive reasoning to come to a spiritual conclusion. Join Pastor Ben Kaempfer in both Hebrews ...

As we enter into the new year, it’s important that we are all on the same page about the mission and vision of Downtown Community Church. We all have an internal tension growing in this life because we know what’s to come in the next life, but we don’t want to waste the opportunity God has given us to live by faith, not by sight! Join Pastor Ben Kaempfer as we dive into 2 Corinthians 5:1-15 to examine how we need to rely on Christ’...

The reality is that we all have a tendency to prefer the certainty of slavery over the uncertainty of faithfully trusting in God. It’s easy to look back with a positive slant on how things used to be, even when the past is as extreme as slavery to a nation. This may play out in our lives through waiting on a right romantic relationship or living with generosity. Each of these circumstances require faith that God will provide for ou...