Journey Church :: Raleigh, Nc

The God who reveals Himself through the Bible does so as One who makes and keeps covenant promises. Nowhere is this more apparent than the story of Israel, which began as nothing more than a promise to a childless, old man named Abraham. God may not always make sense and the way forward may not always seem clear, but that’s okay because God always keeps His promises.

It’s impossible to wrap our minds around the grand story of the Bible without first understanding God’s dealings with Israel. They were a nation without a home, a people enslaved to Egypt. Without God, Israel would have been nothing more than a footnote in the pages of history. Their humble origins and unimpressive resume begs the question: Why did God choose them in the first place? Not surprising, the answer tells us very little about Israel and a lot about God.

Who is God? What is He like? What does He want? And why is there something rather than nothing? It’s been said that you can never really understand who God is apart from knowing His Word. There is no better place to find answers to our deepest questions, and start our investigation of the Bible, than in the beginning.

What happens to a person, group, organization, or movement when they stop dreaming? What happens when we have more memories of the past than imaginings of the future? When the places you’ve been are more compelling than the places you are going, the end is near. May it never be said of the church that Jesus built that we stopped dreaming of a better future, a Kingdom future, for our city.

Being a church for our city means learning to say “yes” to the very people who’ve said “no” to God. After all, isn’t this what Jesus did for us? The message of the cross is God’s self-giving, go-first move in the direction of a world that rejected Him. This week, we’ll discover what it means to say yes for the people and to the people God wants us to reach.

In order for us to be “for” our city, we must learn how to create common ground with people who don’t think like us, believe like us, or agree with us. In Scripture, the apostle Paul gives us a perfect picture of what it looks like to seek and find common ground with people as he spent time in Athens. We can utilize his methods today in our own city.

What is the Church known for? Here’s a better question: What should it be known for? When it comes to the modern church, we are known for a lot of different things, not all of them positive. It’s difficult to square our current reputation with the vision Jesus had of a Kingdom on earth as it is in heaven. What can we do to change the narrative, and recapture the irresistible traits Jesus wanted us to be known for?

Discovering who you are is best done after you know whose you are. That’s what Paul is eager to share with the church in his letter to the Colossians. Once you understand the source of your identity in Christ, it enables you to live out your purpose for existence.

On the long days and difficult legs of our spiritual journey, it’s hard to believe that we will ever arrive at God’s promised destination. For thousands of years, people have wondered if God would come through, and He has yet to disappoint. Faith beckons us to remember that the God who authored the promise and devised the route is faithful to His word.

God-sized dreams are rarely realized without first encountering some larger-than-life barriers. Lies from the Enemy, private insecurities, negative people, or a host of other obstacles seek to derail all would-be dreamers. Fortunately, while it may feel unique to you, these barriers are not unique. To realize God’s vision for your life, you’ll need to develop a skill that is common to all successful dreamers.

Inherent in all of God’s incredible promises to us is the invitation to a life-altering process. For a promise made to become a promise fulfilled we must embark on a journey with our Heavenly Father. Such a journey is necessarily filled with roadblocks, obstacles, distractions, and detours. We often call this place the wilderness. Fear not, though, because the wilderness is where God does His best work on us and in us so that we are prepared to receive all that He has promised.

Do you believe God has a big plan for your life? Moses didn’t. In fact, when God finally got his attention, Moses probably thought his best days were behind him. Like Moses, if we are living a life that can be explained apart from God, then we are missing out on something extraordinary. If you are looking for more, then it’s time to discover God’s bigger vision for your life.

The word rescue often evokes images of someone being pulled from a fire, saved from drowning, or helped from a car accident. It’s not a word we would immediately associate with Easter. What if we told you that the story of Easter is actually the story of the perfect rescue?

We've discussed in this series that God is inviting you to join Him in an adventure that will take you places you have never been. We often miss out on the adventure though because of fear of the unknown. We can either say “yes” by faith or “no” because of fear. This message is a challenge to move past your fears and take a step to what Jesus is calling you to.

The life of faith is characterized by responsive obedience. This, of course, begs a question: how do I learn to hear so I can respond? Often, the problem is not God’s silence, but our inability to recognize His voice. If we find that we are inexperienced listeners, then we must learn how to turn up the relational volume. In Week 2 of Beyond Sight that’s exactly what we’ll help you do.

When it comes to following Jesus, we all know that faith is a central theme. Most of us want to grow in our faith, have more faith, and live by faith. But what exactly does that mean? It’s often difficult to work out the mysterious and counterintuitive life beyond sight in the everyday realities of lives. Join us this week as we explore the critical posture that precedes every move of faith.

It would be difficult to find a disciple of Jesus who believes, in principle, that sharing their faith is unimportant or irrelevant. However, despite the best of intentions, we often fail to translate belief into action. If you are looking to take your faith to the next level, you could do no better than sharing the good news of Jesus with others. This week, we will explore how to share our faith more effectively and more frequently.

We’re all busy. This reality isn’t going to change anytime soon, which means that busyness is not a problem to solve, but a tension to manage. Join us this week to learn how disciples of Jesus make sure to make time for the things that matter most. For the majority of self-proclaimed followers of Jesus, the top reason they fail to engage in biblical community beyond an hour on Sunday mornings is one word: busyness. You’re busy.

According to Jesus, the best way to identify one of His disciples is by the way they love others. To demonstrate what He meant by those words, Jesus picked up a towel and washed feet. This picture of sacrificial, self-giving love has informed the activity of the Church for 2000 years. Today, it’s our turn, wherever we may have influence and opportunity, to bring a fresh revelation of this lifestyle to the people who need it most.

One of the most confused and abused ideas in the Christian faith is the doctrine of the Holy Spirit. There are a lot of ideas out there about His purpose, His work, and how we engage with Him in everyday life. Not all of these ideas are exactly helpful. But in order to live the Jesus lifestyle, disciples must learn how to appreciate and experience this most precious gift from our Heavenly Father.