Rise City Church Podcast

3 Reasons to Follow Jesus

Why should anyone follow Jesus? Maybe you’ve wondered if there’s a God. Maybe you’ve been on the fence. Maybe you need a refreshing reminder of His power and worth. In this teaching, Pastor Nolan explores 3 reasons for following Jesus. With so many loud voices demanding our allegiance today, we need to see why Jesus’ love cuts through the chaos, infuses life with meaning, fills us with a new power, and serves as the ONLY foundation for our lives.

Uncertain Future, Steadfast God

As the world looks darker, many people are feeling either uncertain or increasingly trusting in political answers. But in this week’s teaching, we dive into what’s called an apocalyptic vision from the book of Daniel— a vision that pulls back the curtain of this reality and exposes what’s going on spiritually. We see teaching on the evil that lies behind not only the antichrist (yes, we just said that) but every anti-God world leader throughout history. In the midst of all that, we see that in our dark situation, there is still one singular hope: Jesus, his cross, and message. This idea has the power to radically change our city and our lives. Listen in to learn more!

A Crisis of Courage

Perhaps one of the most famous stories from the Bible is the story of Daniel in the lions' den. We all know how it ends — Daniel lasts through the night and is saved. But, do you know the story of Daniel as a young man who devoted himself to God? Do you know about the relentless courage he had with previous kings? Daniel was constantly challenged by the culture around him. For decades he lived in a place that wasn't his home, weren't his people, and didn't honor his God.

One day, that challenge crosses the line, and Daniel has to make a choice — does he bend to the culture and mandates of the government or does he stand courageously in the face of opposition. Join us, as Pastor Jason leads us through the story of Daniel to see what righteous courage looks like and how it can be contagious even in the hardest circumstances.

Culture or Kingdom

The pressure and influence of culture invades your space. You can't help but read, hear, and see the culture around you. Sometimes you think of culture as a good thing, but what if God is calling you to a different narrative? What if God is asking you to be influenced by His Kingdom versus the world's culture? In Daniel 5, we read about two people. One is influenced by the culture — marked by pride, a thirst for power, greed, and lust. The other is an image-bearer of the Kingdom. Do you find yourself plagued by fear, insecurity, loneliness, and confusion? These are inward marks of culture-influence. But God has a better story in mind for you, a story that reveals His Kingdom. Join us as we learn from Nolan how Daniel navigates the harsh culture around him, and how we are called to live today.

How to Fail

The book of Daniel tells the story of a few young Hebrews that were exiled to Babylon, but right in the middle, we get a sneak peek into a conversation between God and King Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon. We see a man so filled with pride that he can't acknowledge the glory of God. The king gives us a picture of what it looks like to fail. Through this moment we get a glimpse of how our own pride and arrogance can lead to our failure, but God in His grace gives us warning signs, wisdom, and boundaries to help us walk in His will. But should you ignore them you may find yourself on the road to failure. Open up Daniel 4 with us as Pastor Jason walks us through what pride looks like and gives us practical wisdom to avoid failure and bring glory to God. Join us for Week 05 of You Were Made For These Times.

Easter Sunday 2021

When Jesus died his disciples thought that all hope was lost. They were counting on him to be their conqueror over the challenges that they were currently facing. Easter Sunday is the hope that we all need. It takes our placement and assumed progress and tells us that it's all temporary, but the Good News that is Jesus Christ is the true hope that we need. Join us, as Jason takes us through the resurrection story in Luke 24 for this Easter Sunday.

The Cost of Nonconformity

Our culture has all sorts of ideas about how we should live and what we should believe, but a life rooted in Christ calls us to live differently. What do we do in the face of opposition? How do we stand our ground when it means losing what we care for? Conformity to Christ means contrast to the world.

Nolan opens up Daniel 3 to show us how three men had to take a stand against culture. They risked their lives in a way that compels us to live differently today. Join us as we read through the fiery furnace, and walk out on the other side with tools to share your faith and stand in the face of conformity. 

Thriving in Babylon

Today, the culture demands that you align with the world’s moral framework. All around us is enormous pressure to conform, concede, cave. But who really determines truth? In a culture shouting for conformity, we are called to a redemptive, Jesus-centered abnormality. In this teaching through Daniel chapter one, Pastor Jason demonstrates that when you stand for truth, it spreads blessing to even those who oppose the truth.

A Collapsing Culture

Babylon sounds like a culture and country of old, but have you considered that you enter Babylon on a daily basis? You walk into the world that attempts to influence you through media and entertainment, that tempts subtle compromises, and redefinition of basic terms.  Daniel also walked into this world and had to make some difficult decisions as to how he would respond to the opposition he faced. In the midst of a collapsing culture we cannot isolate; we cannot back down. We must speak truth and grace in these hard moments. This week, Jason opens the word to Daniel 1 to walk us through, how our response to the world we are confronted with, has a tried and true example in Jesus himself. Join us for week 02 of You Were Made For These Times.

A Creative Minority

Does it sometimes feel like you should have lived in a time when the world was better; when people were kinder and morals, beliefs, and righteousness were honorable? Do you feel like the world around you is becoming harder to recognize and finding your place in all the change is hard?

There once was a man named Daniel who was ripped from the world he knew and thrown into a culture that was unrecognizable to him. What he did then was unlike most. He didn't run, he didn't conform, and he didn't hide. He lived in it. He thrived in it. He kept his faith, morals, and righteousness while influencing the world around him toward the source of his very life. How do we learn from him? How do we come to grips with what Daniel knew... that You Were Made For These Times