The Church of Ephesus — Week 1: How a Church Gets Born

The Church of Ephesus — Week 1: How a Church Gets Born

Welcome to State Street Community Church — we're glad you're joining us. This morning we begin a new series called The Church of Ephesus, starting where the story begins: Acts 19, the chaotic, Spirit-fueled, riot-inducing origin of one of the most remarkable communities in the ancient world. What does it look like when the Spirit shows up in a city? Pastor Becky Crain walks us through the birth of the Ephesian church — the miracles, the conflict, the spiritual warfare, and the public riot — and asks us a question worth sitting with: what is the church actually for? Service includes worship, a message from Acts 19:1–41, Communion, and the Lord's Prayer. Give online: www.statestreet.church/give [http://www.statestreet.church/give] More information: www.statestreet.church [http://www.statestreet.church]

Bigger Than You Think

We close our series A Praying Church with a question that changes everything: what if the church’s prayers didn’t stop at its own doors? In 1 Timothy 2:1–8, Paul urges the church to pray for all people — kings, leaders, neighbors, enemies. Not as an afterthought, but as the first order of business. A church that prays for the world eventually becomes a church that serves it.

Out of the Depths

Today, we continue our series, A Praying Church, by diving into a verse we often turn to for comfort in pain: Philippians 4:6 ("Do not be anxious about anything..."). But Paul didn't write those words from a beach—he wrote them from a Roman prison cell. Today, we'll look at how God's peace doesn't just show up when our circumstances improve; His peace stands watch like an armed guard over our hearts even as the storm still rages. God doesn't engineer the wreckage of our lives, but He absolutely refuses to waste it.

I Haven't Stopped

It’s incredibly easy to fall into an "autopilot routine" with the people we care about. We perform standard human interactions without actually exchanging anything meaningful. And if we’re completely honest, our prayer lives can look the exact same way—relying on generic, drive-by phrases like, "God, please just be with them today." In Week 2 of our series A Praying Church, Pastor Nate Loucks challenges us to move past effortless catchphrases and step into a deeper territory of prayer. Looking at Paul’s letter to the Colossians, we will learn why you cannot pray for who someone is becoming if you aren't paying attention to what they are going through.

Start Here

Let's be honest: prayer is something we all feel like we should be good at, but very few of us feel like we’ve actually mastered. Too often, we treat prayer like a cosmic vending machine or a mechanical lever—something we use to negotiate with God to get what we want. But Jesus models a completely different way. Join us as we discover a foundational truth that changes everything about how we talk to God: Prayer doesn’t inform God—it forms us. Connect & Engage With Us Today: - Watch Live: https://statestreet.church/live [https://www.google.com/search?q=https://statestreet.church/live&authuser=1] - First Time? Fill out a Connect Card: https://statestreet.church/connect-card [https://www.google.com/search?q=https://statestreet.church/connect-card&authuser=1] - Need Prayer? Share your requests here: https://statestreet.church/prayer-request [https://www.google.com/search?q=https://statestreet.church/prayer-request&authuser=1] - Partner with us in Generosity: https://statestreet.church/give [https://statestreet.church/give] Thanks for joining us online today. Lean in, turn off the autopilot, and let's engage together!