Teaching
We gather around the scriptures to learn the unfolding story of God.
Advent – Peace
The phrase “peace on earth and goodwill toward men” is common throughout the Holiday season. But this familiarity strips the idea of peace of its power reducing it to sentimentality or inner calm. The Story of Christmas tells of a Peace far better, far more robust, and far more powerful. May we not be distracted with anything else.
Advent – Hope
In the Season of Advent, believers across the globe enter into the story of scripture by practicing hope. This Advent hope is not sentimentality, or optimistic expectations, but a willingness to cling to the faithfulness of God through everything in life.
Resurrection and Life Everlasting – 1 Corinthians 15:12-52
When we confess, ”I believe in the Resurrection of the Body, and the life everlasting” often we misunderstand it as “I believe I will go to heaven when I die.” But the Christian story is much better than that. The Christian story is that the Creator God has demonstrated in Jesus’ resurrection what he intends to do for the whole world.
The Forgiveness of Sins – Luke 22:54-62
Sin is a poison that mars, kills, and destroys the abundant life God desires for his people. But in a surprising turn of events we discover that God, in Christ, offers us the antidote – forgiveness.
The Global Church and the Saints – Ephesians 2:1-22
In a moment marked by extreme individualism commitment to community and one another is revolutionary. We believe in the global church and the communion of saints. We are the people who live in a community with God and each other.
I Believe in the Holy Spirit – Assorted Scripture
The final section of the Apostles’ Creed centers on the person of the Holy Spirit; the third member of the trinity and the very presence of God on Earth. Unfortunately, one of the greatest tragedies of the church today is that life with the Spirit has become unknown, feared, and divisive with bible churches sitting on one side and holy spirit churches sitting on the other. We need Christian communities that are deeply committed to engaging with the scriptures and cultivating a relationship with the person of the Holy Spirit.
He Will Come Again – Assorted Scripture
American Christians have a unique obsession with the end times. From doomsday predictions to rapture anxiety, the Return of Christ is a doctrine obscured by exaggeration, anxiety, and speculation. In Contrast, the New Testament authors spoke of Christ’s return as a triumphant and joyful conclusion to God’s conspiracy to take back His world.
In Kansas City – Jeremiah 29:4-13
In the West, Christianity has moved from a cultural majority to a cultural minority. Followers of Jesus feel a sense of cultural displacement or, in the language of the scripture, exile. Throughout the biblical narrative, the People of God have had many exilic experiences, but as the Prophet Jeremiah advises, our God can be found even when we are far from home.
Together – Assorted Scripture
As evident in the scriptures, Jesus believed in the church. We believe that church is family and so every year we want to revisit how we participate in this family or do this whole Jesus thing together. Participants in the Midtown Community are asked to commit to five things; (1) Reveal the Kingdom of Jesus, (2) Belong to a Microchurch, (3) Gather on Sundays, (4) Serve, and (5) Being Generous.
Revealing the Kingdom of Jesus – Mark 1:14-15
The Gospel preached by Jesus of Nazareth was that the Kingdom of God was close at hand. This is to say, that God’s conspiracy to take back his world from Satan, sin, and death has begun in the person of Jesus. In response, we are invited to rethink what is possible and risk for what could be.
He ascended into Heaven – Acts 1:8-11
The story of Jesus, living, dying, and rising from death gets a lot of well-deserved attention; but sometimes we overlook another crucial mysterious scene in the narrative which is where we find ourselves today- “He ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the father.” In the event known as Ascension, we discover that God is really here, that he has always been here, and that he dwells in us.
Death and Resurrection – Luke 24:23-35
A natural disaster strikes, there is a random act of violence, and a loved one dies; with each headline, with each death– we are reminded of the fragility of life, of our own mortality, and that life takes place in a dangerous world. A world that is often more like a warzone than a garden. Death is all around us, but Jesus’ conquering of death is an invitation to a new way of life.
He Suffered – Luke 22:39-48
Suffering always seems to be looming under the surface of life. In these moments where we struggle, we reach out to God more frequently and fiercely than ever before. Just as we have learned to walk with Jesus on the mountaintops of life, we must learn to walk with him through the valley of suffering
Conceived by the Spirit and Born of the Virgin – John 1:1-18
Jesus is God in the flesh, a doctrine known as the incarnation. As the Apostle John points out the Creator joins His creation and demonstrates what it means to be human. Jesus teaches us how to delight in the goodness of the creation he calls good.
I Believe in Jesus Christ – Philippians 2:5-11
The Apostle’s Creed confesses that Jesus is God. Yet in His divinity, Jesus becomes human and stoops to serve. This is to say, the very essence or form of our Lord Jesus is both God and Servant.
The Creator of Heaven and Earth – Genesis 1-3
At the dawn of Creation, God’s space (Heaven) and Human’s space (Earth) were united in a Garden called “Eden”. Genesis 1 introduces a story of God’s efforts to prepare a beautiful place in which he may dwell and partner with those made in his image. The human race was entrusted and expected to share in God’s work of creation.
The Father Almighty – Luke 15:11-24
For many, the description of God as the “Father Almighty” feels problematic. Paternal wounds color our emotions and create a conflict in us towards the God called “Father”. But Jesus invites us to know the God who exercises his power in self-giving love.
I Believe in God – John 20:24-29
We have all come to realize that what we believe cannot be taken as the default of society anymore. We feel tugged, pulled, and pressured by alternative, rival stories about who we are and what we're here for. And in the face of those options and that pressure, we are plagued by doubt. Apostles’ Creed begins with the confession, “I believe in God”. This statement is not made without doubt; it is to trust in the midst of doubt.
The Justice of God – Psalm 99
The God spoken of in Psalm 99 is the God of all; ruling over the universe, might in all His ways, and fiercely just. The God revealed to the Hebrew prophets and in the life of Jesus cares immensely for how those created in his image are treated.
A Psalm of Praise–Psalm 8
The significance of Psalm 8 is that it is an invitation to look at creation and stand in awe of its Creator; the Creator of Heaven and Earth that is worthy of all praise!