Reach Church - Everett

This week, we begin a new sermon series, “City On A Hill,” where we’ll learn more about what it means to live on mission as the body of Christ, partnering with Jesus to build his Kingdom here on earth as it is in heaven. In this sermon, we look at why Jesus called his followers the “salt of the earth” and the “light of the world" and what that means for us today.

As followers of Jesus, God has adopted us into his family and brought us together as his children. This experience is similar to getting married — we all must learn how to bend and change to maintain unity in this family. As God’s children, we all have the same inheritance and share the same mission. We’re meant to be a united family.

Jesus knew a thing or two about hatred. He was spit on, beaten, whipped, called names, lied about, brutalized, and murdered. If Jesus himself - the most loving, compassionate, inspiring, generous person to ever walk the earth - knew this kind of rejection, so will we.

We, by nature, don’t want someone ruling our lives, but the only way to have peace in this world is by having peace with God. As we reconcile ourselves to God, we must also reconcile with those around us.

Rescue:Freedom International is on a mission to end sex trafficking once and for all. They work tirelessly to fight exploitation across the globe and attack this injustice from every angle. By partnering with organizations and individuals alike, RFI free dozens of lives each month, help thousands of survivors thrive in freedom, and protect vulnerable people from exploitation. This week, we were honored to hear from Rescue:Freedom CEO, Jeremy Vallerand for "Freedom Sunday" - a day where we heard the story of Rescue:Freedom, discovered unique ways we can support their mission, and learned about Jesus' heart of freedom for all of us.

This week, we unpack what Jesus meant when he said, "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God" (Matthew 5:8).

Mercy is a central component to God’s nature. Because God is a merciful God, it means your failure doesn’t get the final word! Because we've received God's mercy, He invites us to extend that mercy to others. The whole point of the Christian life is that the character of Jesus will be reproduced in our lives.

There’s something that happens to us when we turn our lives over to Jesus. We begin to realize that the things we craved before Christ could never ultimately satisfy. We begin to see just how fueled our hearts have been by cravings that lead us nowhere (the need for approval, experiencing pleasure, achieving promotion, the allure of a pain-free, comfortable life). The counter-cultural reality for Christians is not that our blessing is found in chasing satisfaction, it’s found in our pursuit of God who is our ultimate satisfaction!

We’re not called to be the most powerful, the most wealthy, the most influential in the world’s eyes - we’re called to be humble. To Jesus, humility doesn’t look like being on top or being the best. It doesn’t look like boasting in your strength, or bringing attention to yourself - that’s not where blessing lies. At the end of the day, Jesus is clear that the way of humility is the way to victory in our relationships, in our workplaces, and ultimately, in the Kingdom.

The radical, moral vision of the upside-down kingdom of God is that rather than celebrating sin, or simply living apathetically towards it, we would mourn it. When we get real about where things are at, and particularly, where we’re personally at, that’s where God shows up and ushers in comfort that we won’t find anywhere else.

There is blessing in realizing you're broken. That's not just some self-help affirmation. This is the way of Jesus.

This week, we began a new series, “Counter Culture” looking at perhaps the most famous words recorded from the mouth of Jesus Christ known as “The Sermon on the Mount” recorded in Matthew’s Gospel, chapters 5-7. Before both spectator and disciple, Jesus sat down to teach what participation in God’s Kingdom actually looks like. The Sermon on the Mount is not just some moral code that can be applied across cultures regardless of religious affiliation. If you want to follow Jesus, what you need to realize is that he’s not interested in you following some legalistic system of morality, rather, recognizing and responding to your need for new life that can only be found in him.

Many of us have things in our rearview mirror, from this last year or even beyond, that have weighed us down. Your past, though part of your story, doesn’t have to define your present nor your future. As we kick off 2022, let’s consider what God might be calling us to leave behind and explore what to go after instead.

We're nearing the end of 2021, can you believe it? The new year is always a great time to evaluate the rhythms of our lives and set some goals for the year ahead. Today's devotional is designed to help you make plans (as you might normally do) with God as the focal point. Join Pastor Sean for 10 or so minutes as he shares his heart and resources you with some questions to build from. Have a great "week off" and we'll see you next Sunday, January 2nd!

The treasure of Christmas isn’t found under the tree or in a tradition, rather in the reality of what happened in a small middle-eastern town to an unassuming family 2,000 years ago.

This week, we wrap up our final week of Advent focusing in on the theme of love. Loving God and loving others as you love yourself is the point of life with God.

Joy cannot be separated from the arrival of Christ and what it means for humanity. If you’ve been lacking joy in your life, perhaps it’s because you’ve lost sight of the God who embodies it. Perhaps it’s time you make room for King Jesus to reintroduce you to the joy that’s found only in him.

Peace is something everyone is fighting for, but few seem to be experiencing. Thankfully, peace is possible because one called “The Prince of Peace” arrived on this earth 2000 years ago.

Advent is a season where we anticipate the arrival of Jesus. As we prepare our hearts and create space for Jesus, this week, we focus on the first theme of Advent: hope. Hope isn’t focused on our circumstances - in fact, it’s often what allows us to thrive in the face of unwelcome circumstances. Biblical hope says “I was a slave to sin, but God set me free. Therefore, rather than trusting in other gods, in other people, or in myself, I will trust in him.”

God isn’t looking for puppets, he’s looking for partners. The good news is that we’re not called to invent the work. God’s already doing it. He’s already got a mission. Our job is to be on God’s team.