Resurrection City Church - St. Paul Minnesota

Becoming Who We Are | Honoring God With Our Bodies

We love our freedom and authority to do what we want in America. It’s a the heart of how we think about so much of our lives. The Corinthians loved their freedom in Christ too, but Paul has learned they are using it in a way that is creating lots of issues in their church, namely in how they thought about sex. In a New Testament vision for how we view our bodies, while freedom is very much a part of it, there are other very important factors to consider too, and in this sermon Pastor Joel breaks down what they are.

Becoming Who We Are | Holiness Looks Like Kindness

“The church puts business before matters of faith.” This is a real(ish) headline from a newspaper about two pastors who have a dispute between their churches and their feud went public. Not a good look for those who read the newspaper and who a church might want to invite to know Jesus. If we follow a Jesus who has given us the tools of his Spirit and his own example, shouldn’t we be able to figure most conflicts in the church out ourselves? That’s Paul’s contention in this section of 1 Corinthians. Pastor Joel unpacks that as well as commenting on Paul’s reference homosexuality in this passage.

**Note: There was technical difficulty during the live recording of the sermon, so the audio used here is from a re-recording.

2023 Summer Retreat Main Session: “You Are God’s Temple”

In this recording of the main session of our 2023 Res City Summer retreat, Joel walks through a short but very pregnant topic in 1 Corinthians 3: Do we take seriously that we, the church of God, are God's temple? And what does that even mean? How does it shape our corporate identity, and how would it change our seemingly "normal" interactions with one another? What does it mean that God "dwells" in our midst? Joel walks through all of this and more in this session. 

Becoming Who We Are | Becoming Who We Are Together

In 1 Corinthians 5, Paul calls the church to live as they already are: holy and set apart people in Jesus Christ. However, he knows that in order to do that, they (and we) need accountability from one another. In this message, Julie draws out why we need encouragement and challenge from one another in our process of living out the new life we have in Jesus and putting our old sinful habits and ways behind us. 

Becoming Who We Are | The Nature of Christian Ministry

The Corinthian church wanted something out of their leaders that didn’t fit the gospel they’d received from Paul. Paul’s response to them is really incredible and instructive for us, whether we’re a ministry leader or not, because all Christians are called to do ministry. Paul uses two analogies to describe the work of Christian ministers: working in a field and building a house. When we deeply meditate on these analogies, it can truly transform how we think about ministry. Join us, as Pastor Joel leads us in a reflection on this amazing passage from 1 Corinthians.

**Note: There was technical difficulty during the live recording of the sermon, so the audio used here is from a re-recording.

Becoming Who We Are | Cruciformity or Celebrity?

The church in Corinth has a problem with valuing status gained over being like Christ. In short, you could say they have an issue with confusing celebrity with holiness. Instead, Paul reminds them, the gospel is predicated on a form of anti-celebrity: the cross. When the modern American church reads this passage, it has to grapple with its own celebrity problems, and in this sermon Pastor Joel asks what it would be like if we valued a focus on the cross—cruciformity—over celebrity.

Becoming Who We Are | True Wisdom and Power

As we continue in 1 Corinthians, we see that the Corinthians want Paul's message to come with more "wisdom and power." Paul knows that the Corinthians want a message that fits in better with the world's idea of wisdom and power: success, wealth, and the good life. Instead, Paul explains how the gospel of Jesus comes with true wisdom and power by subverting everything we think of as success, and he calls the Corinthians to live as set-apart people rather than trying to fit in.

Becoming Who We Are | Holiness As Identity

In this series, we want to draw together themes from our last three series on the Spirit of God, Sin, and Grace. Paul’s first letter to the Corinthian church is the product of a deep frustration at a church that has become far too much like the city they resided in, rather than becoming like God. How does Paul respond?

Not by getting angry at them, not by canceling them, and not by shaming them. Instead, he encourages them to become who they already are: God’s holy people. Therein lies the key to their issues. As we start a summer series in 1 Corinthians, we will come back to this idea over and over: are we making holiness our deepest identity? Join us!

According to Grace | God’s Grace is Never Lost

According to Grace | Being God’s Remnant of Grace

During some tragic events in Israel’s story, in the midst of disaster, God allows a group of leftovers, or a remnant, to survive. These are people who, by God’s grace, ensure God’s people press on. In the present, we see in many ways a fading of the church and Christianity, but if God acts according to grace then there is a remnant that survives. If you’re still here, you’re part of the remnant.

In this sermon Pastor Joel explains how we can embrace this grace by adopting a “remnant mindset” and thrive throughout a season for the church that could otherwise destroy it.