Greater Than Our Circumstances - Colossians 1:1-14

Greater Than Our Circumstances - Colossians 1:1-14

What do you do when your circumstances feel bigger than your faith? Guest teacher Jay Reynardus opens the book of Colossians — and the answer isn't a technique to try harder. It's a Person who is greater. Paul thanks God for a small, struggling church because he sees the three unmistakable marks of God's children in them: faith, hope, and love. And here's the freeing part — none of it is something you manufacture. If you have faith, it's because of God. If you have love, it's because of God. If you have hope, it's because of God. It's all gift. It's all grace. Look at what God has already done, all past tense: He qualified you, gave you an inheritance, delivered you from the domain of darkness, transferred you into the kingdom of His beloved Son, redeemed you, and forgave you. "He reached into the darkness where you lived and pulled you out — when you were His enemy." When you see that, the little hopes and shallow loves of this world get revealed for what they are. So keep your eyes on Christ. "It's Him. It's always Him. It will always be Him." — Preached at Christchurch Miami on July 12, 2026, by guest teacher Jay Reynardus (Colossians 1:1-14).

But What About Christian Nationalism? - Acts 17:1-7

Is America a Christian nation? On the weekend the country turned 250, Pastor Kent Keller takes the question head-on from Acts 17 — where the early Christians were dragged before the authorities for proclaiming "there is another king, Jesus." His answer is more careful, and more freeing, than either side expects. We can thank God for a nation profoundly shaped by Scripture — the Mayflower Compact, "a city upon a hill," the Declaration's four references to God — while remembering that the founders deliberately refused an official state church, because faith can never be forced. The gospel persuades; it never coerces. Underneath the whole debate is the confession the church has made for 2,000 years: we have no king but Jesus. Grateful citizens; faithful first to Christ. "We have no king but Jesus." — Preached at Christchurch Miami on July 5, 2026, America's 250th.

But What About Eternity? - Revelation 21:1-5

Do you ever think about eternity? Pastor Kent Keller closes our "But What About?" series with the biggest question of all. For Kent this is no abstract exercise — much of his work as a pastor is sitting with people in their final hours, and just two weeks ago he buried a lifelong friend. He preaches this knowing exactly where his friend is this morning. Preaching from Revelation 21, this message walks through three truths about what happens when we die: death is a reality but not a finality, a real enemy that Jesus has already defeated; heaven is a way station, not our final destination; and this earth will be perfected, not rejected — a new heaven and new earth where God comes down to dwell with His people and wipe away every tear. "Everybody lives forever. The only issue is one of location." — Preached at Christchurch Miami on June 28, 2026.

What About Manhood?

What does it mean to be a man? On Father's Day — preaching from his deployment in the Middle East — Pastor James Drake walks through David and Goliath and finds three men, but only one who understands true manhood: biblical masculinity is strength surrendered to God for His glory and the good of others. We're not David in this story; we're Israel, until our Champion steps forward. Jesus is the greater David. So run toward your giant — faith moves, fear hesitates.

What About Hypocrisy? - Luke 18:9-14

What about the hypocrites in the church — and what if one of them is you? When NASA launched the Hubble Space Telescope, its mirror had been ground with breathtaking precision — against the wrong standard. It passed every test it gave itself, blind to its own blindness. In this message from our What About? series, Elder Rick Closius shows that this is exactly what hypocrisy and self-righteousness do to the human heart. Working through Jesus' parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector (Luke 18:9-14) and Paul's verdict in Romans 3, Rick exposes the trap of comparative righteousness — measuring ourselves against other people instead of the holiness of God — and then turns the mirror on himself: after 32 years as a deputy sheriff, "I'd become the very Pharisee." But the parable ends in mercy. The tax collector who could only cry, "God, be merciful to me, a sinner," went home justified — declared righteous as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus. Go home justified today — not because your mirror is flawless, but because your Savior is. 📺 Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ao9IBoGUi2Y [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ao9IBoGUi2Y] 📖 Daily devotionals + study guide: https://app.christchurchmiami.org/2026-06-14-what-about-hypocrisy/resources/ [http://christchurchmiami.org/2026-06-14-what-about-hypocrisy/resources]