Mosaic Boston • Jamaica Plain

We dedicate our time to the things we care about most. It makes sense for Christians to dedicate our time to God. How many hours do you dedicate to your relationship with God? Many Christians dedicate an hour a week on Sundays. Which is a good start, but a relationship needs more than that. Life is busy already! How can we give more time? If you need help in your relationship with God, watch this week’s message.

This week we look at a spiritual discipline that can turn your life around. Those that have a thriving life live out this discipline on a daily basis. What is it? Consistency. This week Pastor Ivey takes to Daniel, one of the most faithful and consistent people in the Scriptures. We’ll learn how being a consistent person can change our lives. Then we’ll get three ideas to help us be consistent God honoring people.

In week two of Pre-Decide we turn to temptation. All of us are tempted daily, and some days we’re more successful at fighting it than others. Succumbing to our worst temptations not only hurts us, but can hurt the people we love the most, and ultimately hurt the heart of God. How can we be better equipped and stronger against our struggles? This week, Pastor Ivey looks into the Scriptures to teach us three helpful methods to resist our most difficult temptations.

This week we begin a new series on making better decisions. Pastor Ivey talks about the idea of pre-deciding some of life’s biggest choices before they every happen. We’ll examine how this technique can help save us from making some really destructive decisions. This may not be an idea you’ve heard before, but it’s one found all over the the ancient wisdom of the Bible. Listen in this week for part one of our six part series Pre-Decide, “Take Back Your Life.”

This week we look at one of the most significant stories in all of Scripture: The Triumphal Entry. Pastor Ivey takes us through Matthew’s account of Palm Sunday where Jesus rides into Jerusalem with crowds shouting “Hosanna!” This is the moment where he declares to the whole world that he is not just a prophet or good teacher, but he is king. This story illustrates that Jesus is king over everything. Not one thing that happens in this moment that was on accident.

Haggai is a little book that we don’t talk a lot about, but that doesn’t diminish its power. These two chapters are filled to brim with important ancient wisdom that is applicable to our modern lives. For the follower of Christ, Haggai shows the secret ways we don’t put God first. Pastor Ivey challenges us to place Christ as number one in every area of our lives.

Join us as guest speaker Philip Blackett shows us the way that Jesus led how we should have the same desire for servant leadership.

This week, join us as guest speaker Fady Ghobrial shows us from God's Word how we can have a Biblical perspective on work.

Zephaniah isn’t a book that we talk about often, but it’s message that we all need to hear. This week Pastor Ivey looks at the prophet from the royal line of the great reformer king Hezekiah. Zephaniah sees his people on a crash course for God’s judgment, and he proclaims a message of repentance. He hopes that a young new king named Josiah will listen, repent, reform God’s people, and find safety in the Lord. Listen this week and learn where safety can be found.

This week we look at Nahum. Nahum is a little different than the other minor prophets. Where most of them focus on the sin of God's people, Nahum focuses on how God's people had been sinned against. This week pastor Ivey shows us the importance of being an advocate for those in need.

This week we start season 2 of our Minor Prophet series “Outspoken.” In this series is about 12 faithful men who changed the world, not because the were popular, had the biggest platform, or made a good living. These men preached radical renewal to God’s people, before Christ was born, and many of them faced great hardship because they did. This week Pastor Ivey dives into the book of Micah to see the miracle God was going to do for his lost people.

Have you ever been in a situation where God was your only hope of survival? You’re not alone. That was basically the life of King David. This week Pastor Ivey takes us to the 124 Psalm, where David shows us how he has made it through life’s most difficult days. On his own, David would have been a dead man, but with the Lord’s help David could make it through the impossible. Watch this week as we finish out series in the Psalms.

We need God every day, but there are times when we get in over our heads and confront God-sized problems. Problems where, if God doesn't pull through, we have no chance. This week we continue our series in the Psalms by seeing how David called out to God when he is in trouble. Pastor Ivey walks us through Psalm 54 so we can learn how to call to the Lord for aid on our most difficult days. Plus we work through how to understand passages of violence in the Bible.

We use prayer to communicate with God, but how does God communicate with us? God is infinitely transcendent, above us, is it even possible for God to speak our language? This week Pastor Ivey explores Psalm 19 and we'll discover the two languages God has used to communicate to us.

The Psalms are not just one type of thing. The represent the hymn book of the Jewish people. Just like we have different genres of music like pop, classical, hip hop, or emo, Psalms is similar. Those different genres will have a different ways of communicating. Last week we looked at a wisdom psalm and this week we jump to a royal psalm. Pastor Ivey explores how to live as a Christian in a world that is complex and chaotic.

At the beginning of this new year we are starting a new five-week series in the Psalms. This week Pastor Ivey takes us through Psalm 1. In this Psalm the writer reveals the secret to happiness. The way he does this is kind of backward. Rather than giving us all the steps to be happy, the Psalmist shows us three places we look for lasting happiness and never find it. His surprising revelation is that we need to be less like culture and more like a tree if we want to be happy.

Summary: Names can tell us so much about a person. So when God sent his Son he gave him four names to describe the type of Messiah he would be. This week we wonder at how Jesus is our Eternal Father. Which is strange, because Jesus is the Son of God. So, pastor Ivey unpacks how the Son can be a father to us. Whether your dad was good, bad, or complicated, we’ll see all the ways that Jesus is the father we’ve all dreamed about. Then we see why that matters in our lives. Join us this week as we learn about Jesus, our Eternal Father.

This Sunday we explore what it means that Jesus is our Wonderful Counselor. Pastor Ivey helps us understand the miraculous nature of Jesus the Wonderful Counselor. It’s more than a title, it was the way of Jesus while he walked earth. But even more than that, today he is still our wonderful counselor. He welcomes our problems without judgment and heals our deepest needs.

This week we begin our advent series "Wonder." In this first week, we turn to the book of Isaiah to learn about a child that would bring hope to the world. To call this child special would be an understatement. Isaiah gives us four names for the child: Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, and Prince of Peace. This wasn't just any child, this was God. This week pastor Ivey shows us how this child born more than 2000 years ago makes a difference in our lives today.

In this final week of Devastation and Reform Pastor Ivey looks at being wrong. Is it ok for a Christian to be wrong? The argument can be made from the Scriptures that it's not only ok, but that recognizing we're wrong is essential to being a Christian. We'll look at two important people from Acts 9 who realized they are wrong and Jesus was right.

This week we see how knowledge is our friend when we are going through deconstruction. Pastor Ivey brings us to a passage where a well-known worship leader in Israel is doubting his faith. Though he doubted, he didn't lose his trust in God. Listen this week as we see four types of knowledge that can help us deconstruct our faith without losing it.

It's important to be able to discern truth from lies. This week pastor Ivey walks us through discerning what is true through the Scriptures. We turn to the least discerning couple of all time: Adam and Eve.

All of us put our trust in something even when we're not sure about everything. This week Pastor Ivey brings us to Mark 9 to see a blind man with incredible faith, but a man that was unsure about a a lot. We see that it's ok, not to know be unsure about many things in your faith as long as you trust in Jesus.

In our new series we are exploring faith deconstruction. In this first week we take a step back to look at what is meant by deconstruction. Then Pastor Ivey brings us to the book of Matthew to see how deconstructing our faith doesn't always have to be a bad thing. Faith deconstruction, if done the right way, can lead to a deeper faith on the other side.

It's amazing to think that the Lord of the universe listens to our prayers. But even more amazing than that, God prays for us! In today's passage from John, we get to listen in on a personal prayer of Jesus. The most fascinating part of this prayer is that Jesus prays, not just for his disciples 2000 years ago, but for Christians living in 2021. Listen as pastor Ivey brings us through five prayers Jesus prayed for us.

This week we look at a fight that has been raging since page three of the Bible. It's a battle that the Apostle Paul faced and a battle that every Christian faces. It's a fight between the old and new You. The flesh and the Spirit, and it's the fight of your life. This week pastor Ivey takes us to the works of the flesh and the fruit of the Spirit to see how God is producing the fruit of Christ-like character in you.

This week we begin our new series by looking why we have been chosen. In John 15 Jesus tells us that he chose us to bear fruit. Over the next few week we will explore the type of fruit we're supposed to bear, but this week we focus on the how. Pastor Ivey explains both the simple, but difficult way in which Christ produces fruit in us.

In the church, we can often think that the people that are most visible, like pastors and worship leaders, are the most important jobs. We can assume that everyone else's jobs are less important. This is a lie we've told ourselves and cannot be found in the Scriptures. Watch this week as pastor Ivey explains from Romans 12 how every member of God's church is essential to God's plan. There are no insignificant jobs in the church.

This week we remind ourselves why God has us in Boston. There are always two temptations. If you've lived here for a while, you can become complacent and forget that God brought you to Boston for a reason. Life can become mundane, unfocused, and monotonous as we lose the adventure of living on purpose with Christ. If you're new to the city, and you know you'll only be here for a few years, it's tempting to treat it like a layover and not invest where God has you. This week pastor Ivey shows how God has called long-term citizens and even those passing through to give, invest, and contribute to this city.

Much of life seems to be lived in-between where we are and where we want to be. This week we look at keeping the faith in-between. Faith between the prayer and God's answer. Between pain and healing. Between the beginning and finishing. Habakkuk is a powerful example of faith in-between God's work. Habakkuk lived between God's judgment and God's redemption, and he teaches us how to have hope while we wait on God to work.

This week Joel Richards is our guest speaker. He brings us through, Obadiah, the shortest book in the Old Testament... And one that, at first glance, is pretty difficult to understand. We may feel like we can skip or ignore Obadiah, but if we do we're missing out on a treasure of God's grace. This week Joel Richards helps us make Obadiah practical by showing us the implications of having our success be from God.

This week we jump into Amos. Amos is a fascinating book about God's desire for justice and righteousness among his people. To get this message out, God contracts a poor shepherd from a nowhere mountain town to speak to the immoral privileged and wealthy. These people were crushing the vulnerable and weak while all the while trying to act religious. For this reason, Amos has a lot to say to American Christianity. Listen in and be transformed by God's Word through this ancient poet.

We continue our series in the Minor Prophets this week by looking at the book of Joel. The main antagonist in Joel's book is a swarm of locusts that illustrates and warns Israel about the danger of their sin and how the Lord is drawing them back. As we look at Joel we will see how God uses our pain to bring us to himself and shape us into the people he desires us to be.

This week we begin a brand new series in the Minor Prophets. They aren't minor because they're unimportant. They're called minor because they're small. In our first message, pastor Ivey looks at the fascinating story of Hosea and his bride. Hosea becomes the stand-in for God. Through Hosea, we'll see how God chases, loves, and has sacrificed himself so that we can have a relationship with him.

It's no secret that the church is weird about sex and that our culture is obsessed with it. This causes a lot of tension and disagreement between the church and the rest of the culture. This tension is not a new phenomenon. Christians have been weird about sex for about 2000 years. This week pastor Ivey examines the history and future of this belief by looking at the bigger and better story of sex and marriage.

For Western cultures, judgment, hell, and damnation is one of Christianity's most controversial beliefs. Maybe you've been asked, "How can a loving God send people to hell?" It can be a difficult question to answer. So, in our third week of X-Ray, Pastor Ivey examines the doctrine of hell. This message is difficult and sobering but needed. We'll begin by exploring what Christians actually believe about hell, then examine how a loving God can judge us, and finish by celebrating the one hope in hell humanity has.

You may have heard someone say that all religions are equally true, and while it sounds nice, there are some major issues with that idea. This week Pastor Ivey x-rays the Christian belief that Jesus is the only way to God. First, we see that elephants are nothing like religions, then we seek to understand from the Scriptures why Christians believe that Jesus the only way to God, and finish by examining if Jesus really is able to forgive our sins and be our way to God.

There are some difficult beliefs in Christianity. Some are hard to understand. Others are just hard to accept. Some seem immoral and others seem ridiculous. Our backgrounds and culture greatly affect our acceptance of certain beliefs, but that doesn't change the historically orthodox beliefs of Christianity. In this new series, we're going to look under the surface and x-ray Christian beliefs to see why Christians believe what we believe. If you're a Christian, there will be information here that strengthens your faith. If you're not a Christian, this will be challenging, but enlightening. Join us this first week as we ask the foundational question, "Is the Bible God's Word?"

Has someone told you, "You don't want to be on the wrong side of history." The statement may cause you to really think. This week we look at how often, when we live our lives trying not to be judged by future generations we cannot know, we may be doomed to become worse than prior generations. There is no better example than the religious leaders of Jesus' day. These were men who had disdain for past generations and truly wanted to be on the right side of history. Yet, they became even worse than their ancestors. Can the cycle be broken? Listen as Pastor Ivey unpacks Jesus' solution to this vicious cycle of sin.

A gambit is a chess move where a player sacrifices a piece in an effort to trap their opponent. Metaphorically, this is what the religious leaders try against Jesus when they ask him a question about his authority. What they don't fully understand is that Jesus is playing chess while they are playing checkers. He outmaneuvers them and sets his own gambit. Watch this week as we examine our hearts to answer the question the religious leaders must answer, "Who is Jesus?"

This week we look at a passage that has stumped Christians, theologians, New Testament scholars, and philosophers for centuries. And it revolves around a barren fig tree that Jesus curses. We examine the meaning of the fig tree and why Jesus cursed it. Then pastor Ivey shows us how to avoid being cursed by Jesus. Something that we should all be interested in! Listen, understand, and be changed by one of the most difficult passages in the Gospel of Mark.

All of us have deficiencies, and if we're honest, we probably have more than one. It's only after we realize our weaknesses that we can do something about them. This week we look at blind Bartimaeus. A man who was well aware of his weakness but also knew its solution. One day while he was going about his regular begging, the solution to his blindness came walking by, and his name was Jesus. Listen this week as Pastor Ivey explores how we can see our weaknesses and allow Jesus to heal them.

The final reason God has you on earth has an expiration date. God has put you in this world for a mission to spread the good news of Jesus'. This is God's mission for us, but only on this side of eternity. That doesn't make it any less important. It only makes the need more urgent. Not only did Jesus send us on a mission, but he also gave us scope for it. We are to be witnesses here, there, and everywhere. Listen this week as Pastor Ivey looks at God's gospel mission for his church and shows us our part in it from the Scriptures.

When we were saved, the Apostle Paul tell us that he pouring out his kindness on us in love, resurrected us, forgave us, saved us, and even coronated us as co-rulers with him. And in all that he has done for us, we are his masterpieces of redemption. The Apostle Paul concludes that because of the amazing work of Jesus for us there is only one reasonable response is our whole lives in service to Jesus. While that is a lot to grasp, Pastor Ivey slows down and takes us through three ways we can serve like Jesus. Join us this week as we see that we were born to serve.

We often think of the obvious ways we grow in our faith: Prayer, Scripture reading, and going to church. While God does use all those things, he also uses so much more. Many of them are pretty unexpected. Many of the times he wants us to become like his Son, he will bring us to the places Jesus went. This week we examine those unexpected tools from Romans 8:28-29. Listen as Pastor Ivey helps us navigate some of the difficult ways God helps us become like Jesus.

We all have a physical family, the people that we share our DNA with. They are important parts of our lives, but we will be eventually be separated from those we're genetically related to. God has given us a family that won't just last our few decades on earth, but for all eternity! This week Pastor Ivey explores the importance of God's church. They are the most important family we will ever have. We cannot fulfill our reason for being alive without them. Listen this week as we unpack what it means to be born for God's family.

All of us are born with certain skills, abilities, talents, and passions. Sometimes we can mistake those for our purpose in life. For instance, if you're good at math, you may assume your purpose is to work in the sciences. Eventually, we realize that those things may contribute to our ultimate purpose in life, but they are not the reason we're alive. If we want to know the reason we're alive we need to look to the one who created us. Listen with us this week as pastor Ivey explores the first reason you're alive: You were born to worship God.

In some way, all of us have asked the question of existence, "Why am I alive?" It's one of our earliest questions, but it never really seems to go away. This week Pastor Ivey begins a new five-week series exploring the reason we're born, our purpose in life. Listen as we explore the reason we're alive from three different perspectives: Existence, significance, and intention.

Have you ever wondered why you're alive? What is your purpose for existing? Because, if there is one thing you want to get right, it's your purpose. This Easter Pastor Ivey explores the Scriptures to look at why God made us, how God made us, and what should be our response. Listen this week for a meaningful message about your place in God's plan.

Have you ever felt alone? Maybe 2020 was a year where you experienced more isolation than ever before. We were not meant to be alone. But this week we look at a time when Jesus was abandoned by everyone and left to face the most horrific moment in history alone. Join us this week as pastor Ivey explores Jesus' painful moments before the cross in the Garden of Gethsemene where he was abandoned by all so that we could be welcomed by God.

As we continue our Lent series, taking a deep dive into the last three days of Jesus' life, we look at an extraordinary act of worship from a thankful woman. Everyone gives Jesus some sort of value in their lives. Some people will pay to get rid of Jesus, others will get what they can from Jesus, and still, others will give all they have to Jesus. Which one are you? How do you value Jesus? Listen in this week for a powerful and contemplative message on worship.

What should and shouldn't Christians do when waiting on Jesus to return? Talking about the end-times will always spark fascinating discussions. Some are more helpful than others. This week we look at the second half of Jesus' end-times teaching on the Mount of Olives. Jesus doesn't leave us wondering what we're supposed to do as we wait on him to return, he comes right out and says it. Join Pastor Ivey this week as he walks us through the Christian's proper response to the end-times.

This week we begin our new Lenten series where we slow down and explore the last three days before the cross. On Tuesday Jesus walked out of the temple with his disciples. When one of the disciples was enamored with the beautiful Temple in Jerusalem, Jesus prophecied that it would soon be destroyed. Shocked, the disciples wanted to know more. So Jesus took them across from the temple to the Mount of Olives and gave his second most famous teaching about persecution, the destruction of the temple, his return, and the end of time. This week he tells his disciples to keep their eyes wide open to the signs of the times so they will persevere. Pastor Ivey walks us through the passage and connects it to our everyday Christian lives.

Confession is often the most difficult part of prayer. It's always hard to admit we've done something wrong. This week Pastor Ivey unpacks why Christians should not be afraid of confession. Rather, Christians that understand the gospel, the depth of their sin, and the grace of their Father should marvel in confession. Join us for this final week in the series A House of Prayer as we look to the last verses in Jesus' model prayer about deliverance from sin.

For the first time in the Lord's Prayer, Jesus tells us to ask for God to work on our behalf. Perhaps surprisingly, Jesus doesn't begin his prayer with requests, but with worship. Then he prays that our hearts would be aligned in submission to God's will. It's only then that he begins asking for God's provision. Pastor Ivey unpacks each word of this amazing verse. Listen this week as we discover from Jesus what it is to recognize, rely, and rest on our Heavenly Father.

If we want a comfortable life, Prayer is dangerous... especially when we pray Jesus' first request of his model prayer. As we look to the Lord's Prayer this week, we see that Jesus wants us to keep our hearts focused heavenward. We're going to see Jesus petition the Father to bring heaven to earth. Pastor Ivey explores how heaven can come to earth and then shows us from the Scriptures how the ever growing Kingdom of God expands.

The Lord's prayer is one of the most remarkable teachings of Jesus, but it has become so common that we often miss how extraordinary it really is. Familiarity has a way of making even the marvelous seem mundane. This week Pastor Ivey continues our new series by turning to the most famous prayer in all of the Scriptures. We'll take The Lord's Prayer and explore the profound meaning in each word. Join us this week and learn to pray under the teaching of Jesus.

In 2020 we spent a year reading through the entire Bible, and may consistent Bible reading continue in your life this year. But in 2021 we're focusing on prayer, and not just any prayer, but communal prayer. Check out this week's message as Pastor Ivey unpacks a powerful passage from the prophet Isaiah about how God defines his house. He doesn't call it a house of music, a house of preaching, or a house of programs. He calls it "A house of prayer."

After several months off, we are concluding our series about caring for God's creation. This sermon was originally planned for March 2020, but COVID changed those plans. Today we look at our role in God's creation. Pastor Ivey walks us through the first job ever given to humans: Gardeners. Then we see how that relates to our current job on God's good earth.

So far in Ruth, we've seen hope crushed and reborn. We've seen love planted and flourished. We've witnessed the peace that comes with a family. This week we watch a joy that comes from God's supernatural providence in the life of Ruth. We finish our Bethlehem Christmas celebration 1,300 years before Christ. Like with the birth of Jesus, there is a child born who will have a royal legacy. Join us as we see how God was working to bring joy to the whole world through this one family!

This week we catch up with Ruth a few months after she first met Boaz. Naomi was determined to return the love Ruth had shown her. She desired peace for Ruth, and she had a plan to get it. In chapter three she sent Ruth on a risky mission that would require an unconditional proposal to a rich and powerful man. This week Pastor Ivey shows us how we can be agents of peace in the world through the power of Jesus, our redeemer.

We love burritos. We love movies. We love our family. We use love in a lot of ways with vastly different meanings. But there is one thing we all want in life, it's a loyal love that is never going anywhere. This week Pastor Ivey jumps into the second part of Ruth. In this chapter we see Boaz using a special type of love. A faithful love that most often characterizes God's love for his people. Through Ruth, we'll see where to find the faithful love we truly long for.

2020 has been a year to remember... or forget? Either way, we all need a little hope this year. Christmas is a season of hope as every year we remember the birth of Jesus in the town of Bethlehem. But did you know that Bethlehem was important throughout the Scriptures? Some 1300 years before, the birth of Jesus was put in motion by a young outsider woman and an Israelite man all culminating in, you guessed it, the town of Bethlehem. Through the story of Ruth, we learn where to find hope on our darkest days.

Jesus often subverts our expectations. Anytime we think we have him pinned down, he gives us a teaching like Mark 10:32-45. In chapter 10, two of Jesus' disciples ask to be the most powerful people in the new kingdom he would establish. Jesus astonished them with the radical upside-down nature of his kingdom. This week pastor Ivey examines the real winners in Jesus' kingdom. Jesus reveals that the secret to happiness paradoxically comes from being a loser. They aren't the powerful and the rich, but the lowly and the humble.

There are good reasons to think that if you live in the United States you are rich. Honestly, we may not feel rich, but billions of people across the world think we are. Jesus says that's a problem because it's impossible for a rich person to get into Heaven. So if from an international perspective we're rich, and it's impossible for us to make it into Heaven, what do we do? Thankfully Jesus always has good news. This week Pastor Ivey unpacks the very relevant story of the Rich Young Ruler.

Children are not always thought of in the highest esteem in society. They can be seen as nuisances or even wasteful. This is nothing new. In Jesus' day, they were even lower in society's view. In the book of Mark, there is a story about the disciples shooing children away from Jesus. When the Lord found out he wouldn't allow it. He made an amazing claim about the position of children in his kingdom that we should all consider. Join us this week as Pastor Ivey talks about the time Jesus told us why we need to grow up and become like children.

It seems like particularly in politics we can see the person on the other side of the aisle as our enemy. Both parties tend to claim that the other is evil, demonizing their opponents. But who is the real enemy? The Apostle Paul is really helpful when he points out that our enemy isn't that person that believes differently than us, but the devil. This week follow along as Pastor Ivey brings us through 2 Timothy 2:22-26 and we learn how to crush our true enemies.

What kind of earthly citizen should a Christian be? This week pastor Ivey gives us a clear picture from the Scriptures about how earthly government fits into the Christian’s life. In the midst of one of the cruelest and most sadistic Romans Emperors of all time, Paul gives the church a surprising command to submit and honor the emperor. How does a Christian live in the tension of following Christ and submitting to the governing authorities? Especially when those governing authorities may be evil.

In week four of Kingdom Citizen, we turn the corner toward societal issues that Christians should be concerned with. This week we look at Genesis 1 to see how God placed innate dignity and worth on every human being because they are made in his image. Then pastor Ivey unpacks the quartet of the vulnerable and how Christians should care for those on the fringes of society.

This week pastor Ivey shows us the cross shape of the gospel. It is both vertical and horizontal. It is both proclamational and sacrificial. We only have to look at the ministry of Jesus to see the two-part nature of the gospel. In the first two weeks, we identified God's kingdom and discovered the assignment of the kingdom citizen. In our third week, join us as discover the Scripture's holistic cross-shaped gospel.

If you're a Christian, the question isn't if you will live out your faith in society, but how you will live it out. Some of us will live our lives well for Christ and others won't. This week Pastor Ivey looks at four different ways ethicists say Christians interact with culture, but in the end, we turn to 1 Peter to see how the apostle tells us to live. Join us for week two of Kingdom Citizen as we see what it means to live as people of a heavenly country.

Right now everything seems political, and just like every election, this is the most important election in our lifetime. At least that is what we're told. Media and politicians can fill us full of anxiety if we're not careful. But are you ready for some good news? Christians don't have to live that way! In this new series, Pastor Ivey jumps into the Scriptures to discover what it means to live as a citizen of Jesus' heavenly kingdom. This week we turn to Matthew 6 and see how Jesus relieves our need to be captured by the whims of society.

What is a spiritual gift? In Ephesians 4, the Apostle Paul explains why God has given gifts to his people. This week Pastor Ivey unpacks these gifts from Jesus to his people for the good of his church and the glory of the Father through the Holy Spirit. Listen in, learn your shape, and explore your place.

Every year we take time to remind ourselves of who we are, where we're going, and the mission we're on. This year Pastor Ivey turns to Jeremiah 17 and helps us think about where we're placing our trust. The Prophet Jeremiah gives a vivid picture about trust. He describes an arid landscape with a dried up dead shrub and a luscious and thriving tree. What the difference between the two? Where they placed their roots. Trust is like roots. Where we place it will determine if we'll thrive.

As we close out the book of Jonah we see another change in the heart of the prophet. This time not for the better. A few chapters earlier he was promising to follow God, but in chapter four he's back to his old ways. Jonah pitches a tent hoping outside the city hoping that Nineveh will actually be destroyed by God, but God had other plans. Outside the city, God roasted Jonah... literally and figuratively. He shows that he is the same God he has always been. A God of mercy and compassion. Listen in this week as pastor Ivey challenges us to not fall prey to the same mistakes of Jonah Son of Amittai.

Who doesn't love getting a second chance? Sadly, second chances are not given out often in our world. Perhaps this week, you need a second chance in life. If so, I have some good news. This week we look at a chapter in the Scriptures that could be titled "Second chances." In fact, in a lot of ways, the story of Jonah is all about second chances. A second chance for him, a second chance for Nineveh, and all of it is given by a second chance God. Listen this week as we explore this chapter of redemption.

What matters most in your life? There is something about pain that forces us to get a real perspective on life. That sensation is heightened even more when our lives are at risk. People that are terminal are some of the least diluted humans on earth, being vividly aware of what’s most important. Pain and suffering have a way of making what’s really important crystal clear. This week, Pastor Ivey walks us through Jonah's miserable three-days inside a giant fish. On the brink of death, what was most important became absolutely clear to him.

Can you escape God? This is the question that Jonah didn't fully think through. On our most difficult days, we want a God who is close to us. We probably quote Scripture about how he will never leave us or forsake us. But there are days when we wish God wasn't all that close. Days when we want to do our own thing and go our own way. If that's you, you'll relate to Jonah. Join us for an outdoor worship service this week as we watch Jonah attempt to escape God in three different ways.


In week two of The Rebel Prophet, we take our service outdoors.

Jonah was the rebel prophet who fled from God's call. In this week's message, we'll see that the Jonah wasn’t running aimlessly, but he escaped because he was following his heart. He had placed three things ahead of God, making them idols: culture, false-doctrine, and control. This week Pastor Ivey warns us to watch out for our own idols that drive us away from God.

This Sunday guest speaker Dennis Rivera brings a powerful and relevant message from Psalm 46. Often we feel like the world is out of control, but Psalm 46 reminds us that truly the Lord has everything in his hands and under his control. Dennis is a pastor at City Light Church in Worcester, MA. He is also a high school teacher and football coach. Let this word work on you this week.

This week we get to hear a powerful message from Pastor Robert Connolly. Robert pastors Rezarec Church in Brockton, MA. The new church launches this September. Listen this week as he takes us to 2 Kings 22 and talks about what it means to act like the woke church.

For our third week of Woke Church, Pastor Ivey went a different direction. He began the week with a message from Pastor Tony Evans called "Oneness Embraced." In that message, Pastor Evans explains how God brings together his diverse children. Following Tony Evan's sermon, Pastor Ivey gives some practical steps we can take as a church to fight racism. Pastor Tony Evan's sermon is not in the video this week, but it is linked below.

This week we look at a passage from the prophet Amos. Inspired by the Holy Spirit, Amos took the idea of a dangerous torrential raging river and flipped it on its head. When he wrote this text, God’s people were drowning in wickedness, marred with self-deception, and hypocrisy, but they didn’t even know it. That was not the life the Lord ever wanted for his people. He wanted a raging unstoppable torrent of justice and righteousness into the world. This week Pastor Ivey examines how the church should be a torrential gospel river for good to the world.

In this new series, we’re not looking at what society calls woke, but what God calls woke. Christian “Wokeness” looks very different than society’s version. Christ-centered wokeness is being awakened from our deadened, sinful thinking. The most “woke” people in the world should be Christians, but for much of history, the church has been anything but. When we are redeemed, our former way of life died giving way to a new life walking in the light of Christ. This is a life that is fully awake. This week, Paul warns that while spiritually awakened, the church can live asleep.

No one likes living in constant chaos, because we all want to be at peace in our lives, and it’s in this final chapter that Paul reveals his secret to inner peace. He is going to show us three peaces: Relational, Situational, and Emotional peace. First, we will look at the biblical definition of peace, and then we'll examine how Paul achieves this peace in his life. Join us this week as Pastor Ivey unpacks this last chapter of Philippians.

This week, in Philippians 3, Paul wants to shift our purpose from a life focused on the here and now to a life focused on Christ. Paul's life was interrupted and radically changed by Jesus. For Paul, Christ was his everything, and all the other things in life were garbage. He desired for every decision of Philippi to revolve around Christ Jesus because Jesus is their greatest need. He did this by pushing us to be a "One thing" people who keep our eyes focused ahead on Christ. This week we see how Paul's "One thing" lifestyle can revolutionize our lives.

This week we look at the Apostle Paul’s aim in life. After a life-altering encounter with Jesus on the road to Damascus, Paul’s whole aim in life changed. It was no longer to receive the praise of people. It was no longer to be the smartest in the room, the most pious, or the most righteous. It was simple. It was to know Christ. That was it. He knew everything else that he needed in life would follow.

This week we see two faithful servants who emulated the humility of Christ. In so many ways they are Christian standards for the faith. And as Pastor Ivey will point out, their lasting impact didn't come through any single spectacular event, but through faithful life long day by day service to Christ.

We're living in a time ripe for disunity. Currently, coronavirus and racial injustice have rocked our world. Society is divided on how to handle it all. But the church needs to be a contrast to the disunity of the world around us by uniting around the cause of Christ. This week we look at Philippians 2 to explore what Christian unity is. Then we see the humble attitude of Christ and how that should reflect out of us.

What is your “why?” Your purpose in life? The thing that get’s you out of bed in the morning and guides the decisions you make? Without a clear "why" our lives lack direction and purpose. When we have a clear and worthy purpose, we have the power to push forward, even in the face of obstacles, opposition, and extreme suffering.

This Sunday Pastor Ivey introduces our new series in Philippians. We all miss seeing each other. At the present moment, most of us haven't been together in over 10 weeks. This is a pain Paul, the author of Philippians, understood very well. This week we look at the great love the Apostle Paul had for the faithful Philippian church. Then we'll see how both Paul and the Church in Philippi were able to find peace in the midst of chaos. They made it through chaotic time through their ultimate hope in Christ and ongoing partnership in the gospel. The same is true for us.

This week Jesus is going to take a skewed understanding of greatness and flip it on its head. Like so many of Jesus' teachings, his definition of greatness is counterintuitive to the disciples... And after 2000 years of studying Jesus’ teachings… counterintuitive to most of us. As God is the greatest conceivable being, it makes sense he would get to define true greatness. Listen in this week as Pastor Ivey gleans powerful truths to living a life of greatness.

This week we open to Mark 9 and see a father at the end of his rope and a son who is tormented by an unclean spirit. When the father turns to the disciples for help, they fail him… Then Jesus shows up and everything changes. Pastor Ivey looks at the difference between true belief and misguided belief, and how we often underestimate our spiritual enemy which hinders us from living in the victory God wants for our lives.

This week we look at a miracle of Jesus that becomes an analogy for the disciple's partial vision of Jesus. They properly called him Messiah, but they misunderstood the true nature of his divine mission. Jesus never came to be a conquering hero, but a suffering servant. But in the midst of losing his life, he’d gain everything that really mattered. Then, he proclaimed that anyone who followed him would lead this same suffering servant life. Listen as Pastor Ivey unpacks the often difficult path the follower of Christ must take, but the victory at the end that is worth every struggle.

He is risen! On Easter, we looked at Mark's telling of the resurrection. Mark ends his gospel differently from any other evangelist, and in the process leaves the choice at the end of his book in your hands. Like the women who found the empty tomb that Sunday morning, how will you respond to the resurrection? Will you run in fear, rejecting it. Or will you live in faith and the reality of the resurrection? The choice is yours.

When the people were looking for a messiah, Jesus was not what most had in mind. They were looking for a great political leader who would conquer their oppressors and take a throne in Jerusalem. But Jesus came as a counterintuitive king who rode in on a donkey rather than a warhorse and was coronated on a cross rather than in a palace. Listen this week as Pastoral Resident Domenic Rosato explores Jesus' counterintuitive kingdom and the massive impact it has on our lives.

Have you ever unexpectedly found something that changed your life. Then you realized that thing had been there the whole time... you just didn't know about it. Perhaps it was a tool that changed your workflow or a person that changed everything. This week Pastor Ivey comes back to Mark and explores the feeding of the 4000. In it, we see two groups who both overlooked Jesus, the most significant person in history. What they had always wanted and needed was right in front of them, yet they didn't have eyes to see him. Where have you been missing Jesus?