Jesus doesn’t hold back when it comes to talking about money. He completely upends how the world approaches money. He blesses the poor and he decanters the rich.

Perhaps today is a day to proclaim loud and clear that we want a Jesus who is free from all hatred - even self-hatred - and is alive and at work in bringing justice to this world. Sing along today as you listen HERE.

According to Lisa Sharon Harper, the Hebrew approach to perfection was the more organic one. It was about relationships.

There’s a passage in Paul’s letter to the Philippians where he writes what might come across as arrogant: “All of us, then, who are mature should take such a view of things” (Philippians 3:15).

One of the things that Brenna and Nicole talked about on Sunday in their fantastic sermon was how the ‘morality police’ love to explain what sin it is that caused whatever suffering you are enduring.

Detriech Bonhoeffer, the German martyr, wrote about ‘the pathological overburdening of life by the ethical’ - this sense in which we try so hard to be morally pure that all our white-knuckling gives us an ulcer

Sometimes a song or a play or a painting can reach more deeply into us than the two-by-four of a sermon.

When you read through the Gospels, there’s an interesting thing that you see Jesus doing and not doing. Notice how he handles the Bible himself.

A lot of us grew up in religious spaces that placed a high value on the Bible.

It’s very, very tempting to use the Bible against people.

Here is the prayer that Brenna Rubio prayed over us yesterday - very appropriate given the brokenness of our world, our nation, and ourselves.

This song was written by a queer Christian who didn’t have a great experience in their church.

The biblical prophets were not easy on the people either, especially on the religious people.

A quote that Brenna Rubio shared in the message on Sunday popped up a few times on City Church people’s Instagram stories, a sure sign that it struck home.

Jesus had strong words for religious people who didn’t live out what they said they believed.

Today we sit with the words of a poet, allowing the Spirit to open our heart.

On Sunday we looked at how passages about the ‘vindication of Jerusalem’ (Isaiah 6:21) can be interpreted to justify violence against anyone seen to be a geopolitical enemy of the modern day country of Israel.

He makes wars to cease throughout the earth; He breaks the bow and shatters the spear; He burns the shields in the fire. - Psalm 46:9

There was a gathering of over 100 Long Beach pastors in mid-December where Beth Balmer, one of the pastors at Grace LB, prayed this over us all. As you read it, see if you can make this prayer for Long Beach (or your city… or our world) for the New Year.