Rise City Church Sermon Podcast

Get That Taste Out of Your Mouth | Hold Fast

Once your soul tastes Heaven, Earth will never fully satisfy again. In Colossians 3, believers are called to “set your hearts on things above” because Jesus is coming again in glory, and that future reality changes how we live right now.

Jesus came giving humanity a taste of the world as God intended it to be. Every miracle was Heaven leaking into Earth. Every healing was Christ declaring war against the curse. And because we belong to that coming Kingdom, Paul says sin should begin tasting bitter to us. The old self no longer fits who we are becoming. This message is about learning to put the old life to death, fixing our hearts on Jesus, and becoming people who carry the culture of Heaven into a broken world.

Hold Fast to Jesus | Hold Fast

Most people want a version of Jesus they can reshape to fit their preferences — activist Jesus, therapist Jesus, political Jesus. But Paul refuses to let us reduce Him. In Colossians 2, he declares that “all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form” in Christ. Jesus is not partly God or merely God-like. He is the eternal “I AM” wrapped in flesh and blood. He slept, cried, suffered, and was tempted like us — yet He also forgave sins, calmed storms, defeated demons, and walked out of His own grave.

And that truth reaches directly into your life. Paul says we were spiritually dead, unable to rescue ourselves. But Jesus became what we are so we could become alive in Him. At the cross, He took the record of our guilt and nailed it down forever. Then He disarmed the powers of darkness and reclaimed what humanity lost in Eden. This Sunday we’ll behold the wonder of the God-man: the sympathetic Savior who understands your weakness and the victorious King who breaks condemnation.

Rooted & Built Up | Hold Fast

Some seasons feel like flourishing. Others feel like shaking, pressure, heat, and crushing. But throughout Scripture, olive oil was never produced without pressure—and neither are we. In this deeply encouraging message from Colossians 2, we learn what it means to be rooted in Christ, built on Him as our cornerstone, and formed through every season of life.

If you’ve drifted, grown weary, or wondered whether God is still working in your story—He is not done with you yet. The same Jesus who meets us in our weakness is still building, restoring, healing, and producing fresh oil for His purposes. Your roots are not wasted. Your story is not over. And His grace is still enough today.

Hold Fast in Suffering | Hold Fast

Pain changes people. It exposes what we believe, tests what we trust, and leaves us searching for hope that can actually hold us together. In this message from Colossians, we’ll explore how Paul endured unimaginable suffering without losing heart—and why the Gospel gives us strength to hold fast even in our darkest seasons.

Jesus is not distant from suffering; He entered into it. He carried the weight of humanity’s brokenness, endured the cross, and overcame death so that one day suffering would finally cease. Until that day comes, God is still working in the middle of our pain, shaping our character, strengthening our faith, and revealing to the world the mystery of the Gospel: Christ in you, the hope of glory.

Press Forward in the Storm | Hold Fast

Breakthrough and battle often arrive together. As people stepped into new life in Jesus, opposition followed—but that’s not defeat, it’s confirmation the Kingdom is advancing. Colossians 1:13–14 reminds us that we’ve been rescued from darkness and brought into the Kingdom of the Son He loves—this is our identity and our victory.

From that place, Paul prays we’d be filled with the knowledge of God’s will, walking in a manner worthy of the Lord—bearing fruit, growing in Him, and being strengthened with all power according to His glorious might. This is how we endure. We don’t avoid the storm—we move through it together, grounded in truth, focused on pleasing the King, and empowered by His strength to press forward.

A Church That Holds Fast | Hold Fast

In a world pulling us in opposite directions, how do we stay anchored? The church in Colossae faced two distortions—diluted faith (Jesus + the world) and distorted faith (Jesus + religion). One softens truth to fit culture; the other adds pressure to earn what grace already gives. Both drift from the center. So Paul doesn’t say “try harder”—he lifts their eyes to Jesus and calls them to hold fast. Because it’s not the sincerity of our faith that saves us, but the strength of the One we trust.

A church that holds fast is marked by faith rooted in Jesus, love poured out toward His people, and hope anchored beyond this world. It resists compromise without losing compassion, and pursues truth without losing unity. It loves the Bride, stands with other gospel churches, and lives “Kingdom down, not culture up.” Fix your hope on what’s ahead, and it will reshape how you live now. Hold fast to Jesus—and become a people who bring heaven to earth.

Treasure Principle | Randy Alcorn

We spend our lives chasing what feels secure—building bigger barns, stacking up more, trying to create a life that finally feels enough. But what if everything we’re building is pointed in the wrong direction? In this message, special guest Randy Alcorn reframes our understanding of wealth, not as something to own, but something to steward. Jesus doesn’t just challenge where we put our money—He exposes what has our heart. Because wherever our treasure goes, our heart is already following.

Through the lens of eternity, we’re invited into a better way to live—not for the temporary “dot” of this life, but for the unending “line” that follows. In Christ, we don’t give out of guilt, but as a response to grace—a joyful reorientation of our lives toward what truly lasts. This message calls us to loosen our grip on what won’t last and live open-handed, trusting the One who gave everything for us, and discovering that real life—the kind Jesus offers—is found not in keeping, but in giving.

Our King Got Up | Easter 2026

All across the world, millions are gathering to celebrate one reality: Jesus didn’t stay in the grave—He got up. And when He walked out of that tomb, He didn’t just change history… He changed your story. Because the gospel doesn’t start with your failure—it starts with a God who made you in love and came after you when you were far from Him.

Paul gives us a compelling framework for the Gospel in Ephesians 2: Love, Death, Raised, Grace. Out of love, Jesus stepped into our death, carried our sin, and then walked out of the grave in victory. And now, because He lives, you can live. This is grace—fully given, freely received. And today, the invitation is simple: step into the life He’s already secured for you. Because the grave is empty— and that means new life is possible.

Jesus Picked It Up | Good Friday 2026

What if the darkest parts of your story aren’t random—but already accounted for?

Between the Last Supper and the cross, Jesus walks through betrayal, anxiety, abuse, rejection, and injustice—and none of it is accidental. Every step, every encounter, is a preview of what He is about to carry. Because what He faces along the way reveals what He’s going to pay for. Your sin, yes—but also your sorrow. Your wounds. Your anxiety. Your story is already in the pages, and Jesus is already moving toward it.

On Good Friday, we don’t just remember what Jesus did—we recognize what He picked up. The cross is where He takes on everything we’ve done and everything that’s been done to us. And still, He says, “It is finished.” This is an invitation to bring your whole story into His—to lay it down, to let Him carry it, and to see with fresh eyes that the darkness is not the end. Because even here, there’s a glimmer of hope… Sunday is coming.

Who Is Your One? | Nate Pursley

Crowds can make it easy to assume the work is already being done. Someone else will invite. Someone else will reach out. Someone else will carry the burden. But in Mark 2, four friends refuse to leave their hurting friend outside the house where Jesus is teaching. When they cannot get through the door, they go through the roof. Their faith does not stop at good intentions—it moves, lifts, tears, and makes a way.

This week, as we set the table for Easter, we are reminded that people are still searching for light in a dark world, and Jesus is still the One who changes everything. Join us as we discover our responsibility and privilege in bringing people to Him—because when someone gets to the feet of Jesus, forgiveness, healing, and new life are never far behind.