The Chaos Monster
"Wisdom knows that every moment is pregnant with the presence and glory of God in the midst of time marching on." ...
Keep ReadingA faithful presence of love in the absences of our city.
February 24, 2022 by Justin Edgar
"We fail to remember that God is as the Psalmist describes: an abundant fountain, a river of delights, a full house, a radiant light. The Psalmist knows God never operates out of scarcity. Where we must begin with Deeper is recognizing the ever flowing depths of the fountain of God. He is living water, because it is always abundant and always flowing. Scarcity mindset keeps us from going deeper, because we are afraid the safety net either isn’t there or doesn’t go deep enough. We won’t risk, because we can’t. We can’t possibly risk such things. There might not be anything left. There might not be any left for me. We are all like Goldilocks lamenting lost porridge, broken chairs, and occupied beds. But God always has room and always makes room. He is an overflowing fountain."...
February 17, 2022 by Emily Spare
Abiding through the fall at City Pres meant holding on for dear life to your life preserver ring hoping the other side of the rope is attached to the rescue boat, continually clinging, continually waiting. But abiding in the new year at City Pres is what I think we’re being called into: “Deeper.” ...
September 27, 2018 by Justin Edgar | Tags: Chaos, Present, Time, procrastination
"Wisdom knows that every moment is pregnant with the presence and glory of God in the midst of time marching on." ...
Keep ReadingSeptember 20, 2018 by Josh Spare | Category: Sermon Reflection
Augustine wrote in hisConfessions, "What, then, is time? If no one asks me, I know; but if I wish to explain it to one who asks, I know not." I think this is a most astute observation of time, for I spend all my waking moments oriented around time - I wake up at this time; I go to work at this time; I spend this amount of time doing this task; I wasted this amount of time ...
Keep ReadingSeptember 20, 2018 by Charlie Bursi | Category: Trainings
The Book of Church Order (BCO) of the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA) defines the form of government to be used by City Pres and each of our sister churches across the PCA. Chapter 24 of the BCO defines the process to be used for the nomination, instruction, election, ordination and installation of ruling elders at individual PCA churches. I completed this process the...
Keep ReadingSeptember 13, 2018 by Philip Noell | Tags: Work, Purpose, Life, Eternity
"Our lives in this world are helping to bring about his kingdom and prepare the way for the return of Christ. Our work, our relationships, our hobbies, all of it is actually important and is preparing both us and the world for Christ’s second coming. By looking forward to the end of the story in Revelation 21, as Moses did, we’re reminded that our life right now has et...
Keep ReadingSeptember 13, 2018 by Justin Edgar | Tags: gospel, stories, abraham
"We are narrative animals, and I hope the Gospel of Abraham causes the story of the Gospel to reenacted in us, in City Pres and in our city." ...
Keep ReadingSeptember 6, 2018 by Rachel Whippo | Tags: mom, Work
"The truth is, no matter what, I will never be completely fulfilled in what I do here on Earth unless I remember that I am doing it to further God’s kingdom, because that is what we have been made to do."...
Keep ReadingAugust 30, 2018 | Tags: hope, home, Life, Refuge, Healing
"The hope presented in Revelation is that the battle has already been won. We look forward to the return of Christ when not only will suffering and death be absent, but in our new home we will dwell with the Father: the giver of life and the one who wipes every tear from our eyes." ...
Keep ReadingAugust 22, 2018 by Emily Leslie | Tags: judgment, Sin, fear, Refuge, Evil
"Our culture loves to numb pain-- give me all the ice cream, netflix, relationships, alcohol, handbags, adventures and travel...I don’t want to feel a thing. We hide in hobbies, in careers, in families, in fleeting pleasures and constant distractions, never slowing down to face the sharp edges of the evil within our own hearts."...
Keep ReadingAugust 16, 2018 by Carly Haynes | Tags: children, love, Need
There are a ton of children in our church’s neighborhood who do not know what it is like to have their basic needs provided for, who do not know what it is like to have a functional and happy home, and are completely uncertain of their future, but I am certain that Jesus loves them and wants us to receive these children in His name, so that we can show them the ultimate ...
Keep ReadingAugust 9, 2018 by | Tags: death, victory, hope
My almost-99-year-old grandmother is waiting to die. I remember visiting her in her snowbird house right outside of Phoenix most Christmases in my childhood. I remember watching things change each time we visited fewer Christmas decorations, fewer explorations of Phoenix, earlier bed times because she was growing physically tired. I also remember the moment we were in th...
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