Two Cities Church

In Matthew 2:1-16, King Herod, the chief priests and scribes, and the wise men all have a different response to Jesus' birth, and in this we see that everyone responds to Jesus in either anger, apathy, or adoration.

Through the Parable of the Prodigal Son found in Luke 15, Jesus teaches that there are two ways to be lost, rebellion and religion, but only one way home, a relationship with him through repentance.

In Luke 14:1-24, Jesus uses the Parable of the Great Banquet to illustrate for us the importance of inviting in and honoring those who cannot repay us as that's what he did for us.

What does it look like to invest wisely versus foolishly? In the Parable of the Rich Fool in Luke 12:13-21, Jesus answers this question as he warns us against storing up riches for ourselves and calls us to lives of gratitude and generosity.

In Luke 18:1-8, Jesus confronts our arrogance, anxiety, hurriedness, and every other excuse we bring with the encouragement to keep on praying in faith.

In Matthew 18:15-35, Jesus uses the Parable of the Unforgiving Servant to teach us how foolish and dangerous unforgiveness is in the light of how greatly we've been forgiven.

In Luke 10:25-37, Jesus answers these two questions through the Parable of the Good Samaritan: Who is my neighbor? And what does it look like to love them as much as I love myself?

In Matthew 25:14-30, Jesus gives us the parable of the talents, showing us that God has made an investment in each of us. We learn that God wants a return on his investment which looks like our maturity and his mission carried forward.

Walking through Acts 20, we learn what it looks like to live a missional life as Paul makes 6 declarations that define his life and must define ours if we're going to live on mission long-term.

In Acts 19 as Paul confronts the idols of the Ephesians, we learn how to expose and destroy our own idols and are warned of the resistance we'll come up against as we do.

In Acts 17 as Paul is provoked by the city full of idols, we learn not only how to confront our own idols, but how to identify the false gods of others and see them as opportunities to share Christ.

Jesus is the only way, but there are many ways to Jesus. We see this in Acts 16 as Lydia, a slave girl, and a Philippian jailer all come to Jesus through different means.

In Acts 13 and 14, the church at Antioch shows us what it means to be a missional church that values commissioning people more than collecting people.

In Acts 11 and 12, we see the church's response to being persecuted, showing us that our problems should lead us to deeper partnerships and dependent prayer.

God is always preparing both the believer and the unbeliever for the next gospel conversation. We see this in Acts 10 and 11, as God is getting Cornelius ready to hear the gospel while also working in Peter's life to get him ready to share the gospel.

Saul had nothing going for him when it comes to encountering and being changed by Christ, and that's exactly where God met him. In Acts 9:1-22, we see that God can save anyone, and that everyone needs Jesus.

What does it look like to seek forgiveness even though we have been hurt? In Genesis 45-50, we see Joseph seeking real forgiveness with family, and we learn what it looks like to forgive as forgiven people.

What does it look like to seek out true reconciliation after you've been wounded? In Genesis 42-44, we see Joseph seeking out true reconciliation of relationship with his brothers, and we learn what it looks like to truly deal with our personal wounds.

In Genesis 40-41, Joseph's actions show us what it looks like to follow God and serve others in suffering and success.

In Genesis 39, Joseph's refusal of Potiphar's wife shows us how to avoid temptation and walk in the favor of God.