Teaching
We gather around the scriptures to learn the unfolding story of God.
Revealing the Kingdom of Jesus – Mark 1:14-15
The world is undeniably broken, filled with suffering, injustice, and despair. Many of us have grown disillusioned, giving up on the dream of making a significant impact. However, Jesus invites us into a radical movement that promises to heal the world through suffering love, not through power or force, and live out the reality of the Kingdom now while we await its full realization.
Union – 1 Corinthians 7:1-8
In American culture, there is an overwhelming sense that fulfillment in life is tied to sexual pleasure. Shaped in this environment, the sexual ethics of Jesus don’t sound liberating; they sound limiting. But the Christian story insists that marriage is the safest and best place for sexuality to flourish as bonding, mutual submission, and witness.
Singleness and Dating – 1 Corinthians 7:6-9; 25-31
It is no secret that our culture is relationship-obsessed. Whether it be Hallmark, Zola, Hinge, Love Island, or The Bachelorette, they all sell the same dream that Disney princesses believe—your fulfillment is tied to finding true love. This is problematic primarily because it’s not how Jesus lived or how the New Testament writers articulated marriage and singleness. Single people are welcomed as full participants in God’s kingdom.
Jesus and Sexual Minorities – Various Scriptures
The most polarizing question of our generation is: What does Christianity have to say to those who experience same-sex attraction? We must carefully discern God’s heart on this subject and work to align our life with Jesus’. The place we begin is with the biblical text.
A Better Vision – 1 Corinthians 6:12-20
We are living through a widespread redefinition of sexuality and sexual norms in the West. There is a cacophony of competing visions vying for our attention and adoption. None is more influential and corrosive than pornography, which offers us the lie of commodified and anonymous pleasure. Against these stories is the Christian vision of sexuality that insists bodies matter, holy union is coming, and there can be a better witness to the world.
A Community of Sexual Brokeness – John 7:53-8:11
We all hold default assumptions about sex; assumptions formed by our environments, relationships, and experiences. Assumptions that have left us all sexually broken, fractured, and misshapen. The invitation of the Gospel is to bring our brokenness to the healer, to become a community of compassion and challenge.
Politics for the City – Mark 12:13-17
Americans have become less involved with religious institutions, but this has not made them less religious. Instead, Americans have channeled religious fervor and instinct into politics, resulting in new partisan religions. Against these new religions stand Jesus charting a path forward for his followers in the tension between submission and subversion.
Hope for the City – Romans 12:9-21
In election seasons, it is easy to find ourselves marked by animosity, disagreement, and hopelessness. The discourse around our nation is steeped in insult and outrage. But the way of Jesus is to be marked by love, service, hospitality, and peace, qualities that offer a hopeful alternative to our city.
Prayer for the City – Matthew 6:5-14
When it comes to prayer, we all struggle. We feel guilt for not praying more. We feel uncomfortable about praying in front of others. Despite our struggles, Jesus invites us to pray. He invites us to understand prayer not as an obligation but as participation in his coming Kingdom. Jesus teaches his disciples a prayer that has come to be known as the ‘Lord’s Prayer’.
Beauty for the City – Mark 14:1-11
From Jesus’ healing ministry to the work of modern missionary doctors, a consistent feature of the church's work in the world has been to care for the sick and needy through hospitality, which is both a practice and a posture centered on loving the stranger.
Hospitality for the City – Luke 14:1-14
From Jesus’ healing ministry to the work of modern missionary doctors, a consistent feature of the church's work in the world has been to care for the sick and needy through hospitality, which is both a practice and a posture centered on loving the stranger.
Justice for the City – Jeremiah 9:23-24
A common problem with a topic like justice is that it evokes many definitions, ideas, and experiences. The desire to "do justice" resonates within all of us, yet frequently, we merely contribute to the echo chamber with our posts. As followers of Jesus, we are invited to do better. It can be difficult to do justice if we are unclear of how God defines it. But we will find that the Bible gives us everything we need: motivation, joy, and mercy to participate in a Just life for Kansas City.
Friendship for the City – John 15:12-17
We are all looking for connection, relationships, and friendship, yet, somehow, we can't find it. Jesus's example is a life of friendship; Jesus ate, drank, talked, celebrated, walked, and just dwelt with his friends. Jesus chose to do it with others, from the mundane to the extraordinary. In his example, we commit to presence, serving, and vulnerability.
Families for the City – Ephesians 1:3-5
The United States is predominantly identified as an individualistic culture, in contrast to the collectivist cultures seen in many other parts of the world. Elements of individualism have been a part of American society since its early colonial days. But as apprentices of Jesus, we should prioritize togetherness– for ultimately, the people of God are family.
Community for the City – Philippians 2:1-11
There is no such thing as a perfect church or ideal community because there is no such thing as a perfect people. And yet Christ still invites us to participate in it. The good news is that on the other side of this idealistic or dream community is true unity around the person of Jesus and radical servanthood.
Churches for the City – Acts 2:41-47
Despite its failures, the Church is still Jesus’s chosen plan for healing the world. The Church is called to serve as the best example of what God can do with the human community, specifically through unity and presence.
Disciples for the City – Matthew 28:16-20
The idea that you can be a Christian without following Jesus is a Western idea incompatible with the New Testament. The invitation of Jesus is to be a disciple and to make disciples. Jesus calls for a grassroots movement to transform the world from the bottom up.
Death Defeated - 1 Cor 15:50-58
The Christian hope is that our future resurrection will not just change our outward appearance; it will change the world around us and the inner reality of who we are and what we are. The ordering of our disordered desires. And that change is beginning even now.
Empty Cemeteries, New Bodies– 1 Corinthians 15:12-22, 35-49
The Christian faith is often reduced to “I will go to heaven when I die.” But this summary is more gnostic than Christian. It assumes that the material world must be escaped. The Christian hope, as Paul tells it, is embodied. Somehow our God will empty cemeteries and give us new bodies.
Can I Get a Witness – 1 Corinthians 15:5-11
In so many ways, followers of Jesus can be made to feel like our faith is unreasonable, clinging to faith in an event despite the obvious, clear, and overwhelming evidence against the Resurrection. But our faith isn’t unreasonable. It isn’t a blind leap into nonsensical belief. Trust in the bodily resurrection of Jesus is reasonable. Jesus appeared to many: disciples, family, skeptics, and outspoken opponents. These witnesses were so convinced by their encounter with the risen Jesus that many were unwilling to recant that belief even as they were executed for it.