Resurrection City Church - St. Paul Minnesota

Advent 2024: Preparing for Royalty | Barriers to the Coming King

How much time do people spend preparing for a wedding vs. how much they spend preparing for a marriage? The stats show people spend a lot more time preparing for the wedding than what comes after—the much more important thing. The same question could be applied to us and Christmas? How much time do we spend preparing for the holiday part of Christmas vs. how much time do we spend preparing our hearts for the promise, hope, kingdom, and joy of the coming of Jesus? In this message, Pastor Julie explores what kinds of barriers might exists in our hearts to keep us from preparing for the coming of true royalty in Jesus this advent season.

The Awe of God | Psalm 34: The God Who is Good

If you’re a Harry Potter fan, you might remember Barry Bot’s every flavored beans.  The idea is that some “beans” are good flavors- strawberry, toasted marshmallow, while others are vomit or ear wax flavored. The tricky thing is you can’t tell by looking at the beans which one you are going to get- you have to taste and see- to your horror or delight. The idea of a mixed bag of good and bad jelly beans is good analogy for life. Life is a mixed bag of good and bad all jumbled together. Which means we need to be able to spot God’s goodness.

In this message, Res City Leadership Team member Krista Schroeder shares from Psalm 34 about what it means that God is good, and how the Psalm invites us ‘taste and see’ something that is far better than a bag of jelly beans—God himself!

The Awe of God | Psalm 105: The God Who is Writing Our Story

The God of the Bible is described as an author, one who tells the greatest story the world has ever known, and one we’re invited to join into with our own individual stories. In Psalm 105 we read about one chapter in this great story, and Pastor Julie shares what it looks like for us to see our own story line up with the one told here.

The Awe of God | Psalm 147: The God Who is Worthy

It’s natural for us to praise or celebrate that which feels worthy. It can even feel delightful to do it sometimes. In Psalm 147, we are invited to see God as delightful to worship, and we see why as we read through its twenty verses. In this message, Pastor Joel unpacks the Psalm and shares three suggestions for how to build a sense of worth in our hearts for God.

The Awe of God | Psalm 90: The God Who is Eternal

In the Psalms, different parts of God’s nature and character are drawn out for us and when we really think about them, fill us with awe and wonder. In Psalm 90, the key idea is God’s timelessness, the way in which he is not bound by time in the way we are. It’s harder to wrap our heads around this idea than others, but very relevant and wonderful for us when we do. In this message, Res City worship leader Zach Dohmen explains how big God is, how small we are in comparison, and why both of these are good news for us.

The Awe of God | Psalm 18 Part 2: The God Who Blesses the Righteous

It’s easy to get cynical in today’s world. It’s easy to believe that doing the right thing leads you nowhere. But Scripture wants to challenge us away from falling into this bleak way of viewing the world, and offer us one of hope and stability. In Psalm 18, we see that God’s character is righteousness, which speaks to his faithfulness to bless us when we walk in his way and wisdom. In this message, Pastor Joel breaks it all down.

The Awe of God | Psalm 82: The God Who Is A Fierce Deliverer

In Psalm 18:1-19, God is depicted in a way we haven’t yet seen in this series: A fierce deliverer. He is a terrifying force, but his power is used for the purpose of delivering his servant, David. While we might see someone described like God is here as intimidating, it’s all about perspective. We are the ones God rushes to deliver. But what does God deliver us from? And do we want to be rescued? In this message, Pastor Joel examines all of these ideas.

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

The Awe of God | Psalm 82: The God Who Is Generous to All Mankind

It seems like when we see the news, it’s always bad. Psychology tells us that humans are just more interested in bad news than good news, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t plenty of good news out there. In Psalm 65 we consider that God is like a king who travels the whole earth, leaving tracks like from a chariot behind him that “drip fatness”—his goodness and blessing pooled up in the track marks and evident for all to see. When we see good news in the world—whatever it looks like—it is a track mark of God’s goodness.

In this message, Pastor Joel helps us consider three responses to this wonderful God’s overflowing goodness—to extend common grace like he does, to live in the abundance of today, and to make it our mission to see God’s tracks even when it’s hard. Join us as we study this incredible Psalm.

The Awe of God | Psalm 37: The God Who Is Sovereign

We all want control. We try to control our lives and everything around us, but we can't, and in fact all we end up dong is making ourselves anxious. But we find in Scripture reassurance, or wisdom, that reminds us God is in control, and we can trust in him because of it. In this message, Pastor Julie explains why this is good news for us.

The Awe of God | Psalm 82: The God Who Sees and Fights What is Wrong

We naturally admire people who aren’t helpless when the world doesn’t work like it should, and we should have the same admiration with God. In Psalm 82, we read about what God does for those who are helpless in the world, though he does it in a way we might not expect. In this message, we’ll be taken into a mysterious and often avoided concept in Scripture: the divine council, a group of spiritual beings who resist God’s calls for justice and mercy in the world. What we find is that God is working behind the scenes to help those who are helpless.