Neighborhood Church Memphis Podcast

You Have an Enemy

When it comes to spiritual warfare, most Christians fall into one of two extremes. Either they give Satan too much credit. These are the people who see Satan's work behind anything bad that happens in their lives. The other extreme is to not give him enough credit. These are the ones who may believe in their heads that Satan exists, but they don't really think it's that big of a deal. In this teaching we'll dive into a lot of Scripture as we seek to find balance.

So You Had a Bad Day?

We all have bad days from time to time. What does the Bible say about our response to not only trials and suffering, but also to spiritual attack?

Suffering & Baptism

In part 2 of our series on suffering, Joe Currier leads us to look at the connection between Christ's baptism and his time in the wilderness.

Suffering: No Way Around It

Suffering is one of the most counter-cultural messages in all of the Bible. We are conditioned today to seek comfort and do all we can to avoid suffering, but the Bible says something very different. In this message we'll look at God's purposes for suffering.

The Gospel of Jesus Christ

Happy Easter! In this message Bill Ganus joins Robert to discuss the parable of the two prodigal sons (Luke 15).

Why Did Jesus Have to Die?

In this message we seek to answer one of the biggest questions of Christianity: "Why did Jesus have to die?"

The "Already-Not Yet" KOG

We see signs of God's Kingdom everywhere we look, yet we also know that things are not as they were meant to be, and as they one day will be. There is a tendency among Christians to see God's reign (The Kingdom of God) as either a present reality or a future reality. Our challenge, however, is to see that it is both.

A Kingdom View of Rest and Work

We've said that God's Kingdom runs counter-cultural to our world today, and this is none too true when it comes to work and rest. In this message we look at the fact that we were created to work with God, which is amazing in of itself. Yet this working with God can only take place after we've found our rest in God.

The "Advancing-Subversive" KOG

Jesus was often asked the question, "What is the Kingdom like?" In this message we'll look at two of the characteristics of the kingdom.

The "Upside-Down" KOG

In this message we begin a series within a series on the Kingdom of God. As an introduction, we will take a look at four words found in Mark 1:14-15. Those words are: Gospel, Kingdom, Repent, & Believe.

The Parable of the Sower

In this message we look at one of Jesus' most famous parables. Normally this parable is read in the context of evangelism, where we are the sower, the Bible is the seed, and the hearts of our friends is the soil. Going back to the theme of this series, though, we're going to look at it in a different context: God is the sower, his word is the seed, and our hearts are the soil. Jesus once again inserts the phrase, "He who has ears to hear, let him hear" into this parable. Will we be a com...

NC Turns 2!

This week marks Neighborhood Church's second anniversary. We've included the recording of the entire worship gathering. Enjoy!

Following Jesus - Ordinary People

If you're Jesus, and you're building a team for your mission, who are you going to choose? The choices that Jesus makes are a bit baffling. In this message we'll look at the story of one of those chosen, the reasons why he was chosen, and why this is good news for us.

Living in God's Economy

As we wrap up this section in Luke's gospel on money, we want to get practical and address some of the tricky passages. In this message we'll look at the following questions: 1. Should I give my money away to anyone who asks? 2. Is saving money wrong? 3. Is it ok to spend money on things that I enjoy?

The Trouble with Money

As you've been reading Luke, you've no doubt discovered that Jesus talks a lot about money. In fact, other than the Kingdom of God, it's his favorite subject. In this message we look at why this is the case.

The Kingdom Assignment

In this message we look at one of the many parables Jesus told about money. The theme is stewardship. At the end of the message you'll hear about the Kingdom Assignment.

God's Economy Pt. 1

How does God's economy differ from the world's economy? For the next few weeks we'll be addressing this question. In this message Darin Petersen takes us to Proverbs 11:10 and asks the question, "Does our city rejoice when the righteous prosper?" If not, why not?

Going Public Jesus-Style

Here we have the story of Jesus' first recorded sermon. It's his manifesto, his public declaration of intentions. He chooses for his Scripture passage Isaiah 61, which is a favorite for the congregation gathered that morning. Yet Jesus reinterprets the passage in a way that utterly astounds them.

The Fruit of Repentance

We end 2009 by looking at John the Baptist's ministry, which is found in Luke 3. Through this story we will look at the biblical meanings of words such as judgment, sin, conviction, confession, and repentance, and the gospel's role in each.

He's Here!

The time has arrived for God's most magnificent plan to be fulfilled. In this sermon we will look at the birth of Jesus Christ, the Savior of the world! Merry Christmas!

God has a Plan

This sermon is titled "God has a Plan." Now we all know that a plan presupposes a need for a plan, so we ask the question, "What was that need? What was the problem?" We will be in Luke 1, looking at some of the events leading up to the birth of Christ.

Intro to Luke's Gospel

Tonight we are embarking on a four-month journey through the life of Christ, as told by Luke. In this sermon we will look at the background of this Gospel, as well as lay out the big picture of why we're going through this study.

Worship - Repentance

In our final sermon in our worship series, Joe Currier takes us to the book of Isaiah to see that repentance is one of the most authentic markers of true worship. We contrast the holiness of God and his hatred of sin with His great love, mercy, grace and forgiveness. Repentance is the response of the soul who comes near to God.

Advent Conspiracy Kickoff

This is the third year that Neighborhood Church has taken part in Advent Conspiracy. In this sermon Robert lays out the four themes of Advent Conspiracy, and we hear stories from within our own congregation on how Advent Conspiracy has helped to shape our Christmas experiences.

Worship - Generous

What does Biblical generosity look like? Why is it so important to God? Why does the Bible speak so much about money, economics, and generosity? Should I tithe? In this sermon we'll seek to answer these and other questions about money.

Worship - Our Response

We have seen over the last few weeks that worship begins when God initiates. We then respond. So we ask the question, "What does an acceptable response to God look like?"

Worship - God Initiates

Worship is always a response to God's initiation. Before we can worship God appropriately, we need to know who He is and what He has done. In this sermon, Joe Currier takes us to an obscure passage in the Bible to help us better understand the God we worship.

Worship - Treasure

Why is God so interested in being in the position of glory? Why does He insist on being worshiped? Tonight we want to look at Jeremiah 2 to find the answer to these questions.

Worship - Everybody's Doing It

"Worship is our response, both private and corporate, to God, for who He is and what He has done, expressed in and by the things that we say and the way that we live." Louie Giglio Tonight we begin a new series on the topic of worship, and throughout this series we'll be unpacking this definition. In this message we begin with the word "our", which may seem like an odd place to begin, but the truth is that it's a foundational word. Why? Because everyone worships. As we'll see in this...

NC - A Day in the Life

For the past several weeks we've been looking at the vision that God has laid before Neighborhood Church. In this final sermon of the series, we want to focus on how this is worked out on a daily basis.

The City - Loving the Poor

In this sermon, Matthew Watson shares his story of coming to understand God's love for cities. We pray, "God, let Your Kingdom come here in Memphis as it is in heaven," but the amazing thing is that God wants to use us to be the answers to our prayers.

Spiritual Gifts

Last week we looked at the mission that God has called us to when it comes to loving, serving and blessing our city. This week we’ll look at how God equips us for that mission. One of the ways that God equips us for His mission is by giving every Christian a spiritual gift. In this message we'll look at Paul's words to the church in Corinth about this subject.

The City - Blessed to be a Blessing

This week we continue in our series, "Who is Neighborhood Church?" We've discussed what it means to be Jesus-centered, and we've talked about what it means to be true community. This week we look at what it means to be a church in a city like Memphis. In doing this we're going to go back in time 3000 years, to the story of God's people being sent into exile in Babylon.

Community and the 'S' Word

Will we be a church that takes grace seriously, where everyone, no matter your past and no matter your brokenness, is welcome to come and see? Or will we be a church that takes sin seriously, that takes the holiness of God seriously? The sad thing is that we often do better at one than the other. In this message we will look at what it means to be a community that takes both grace and sin seriously.

Jesus-Centered: Discipleship

Neighborhood Church is a Jesus-centered missional community in the heart of the city. The first part of this statement that we are going to focus on is "Jesus-centered." The question we ask in this teaching is, "What does it mean to be a disciple?" Using Matthew 28:16-20 as our primary text, we will look at Jesus' invitation to become His followers. ** The questions for this week's Community Group can be found on the blog.

Who is NC - Intro

In tonight's message we begin an 8-part series on the vision of Neighborhood Church.

The Church in Ephesus

In Ephesus we see God doing what only God can do. Men are trained to carry on the mission work that Paul has been engaged in for the last two decades, God's power is shown in remarkable ways, and, in the course of three years, all of Asia hears the word of the Lord (Acts 19:10). In this message we'll look at this great story, but then we want to fast forward to Revelation 2, where we have a letter from Jesus to this church.

Paul's Missionary Methods

Though we are separated by time, geography and culture, we have a great deal to learn from Paul during his time in Athens. In this sermon we'll look at several missionary principles for planting the gospel in a foreign culture. (Note: I "borrowed" this title from Roland Allen's great book.) http://www.gospeltruth.net/miss_methods.htm

The Gospel Plus...

In this message we look at the first major crisis of the early church. After Paul and Barnabas returned from their first missionary journey, in which the gospel was received by the Gentiles, men from Jerusalem began teaching these new believers that they had to become Jewish before they could become Christian. Paul and Barnabas debated strongly with them, and it was decided that the church in Jerusalem had to weigh in on this matter. Acts 15 is the account of this Council. As we look at...

First Missionary Journey

Seventeen years have passed since the church was birthed at Pentecost, and God's plan for reaching the ends of the earth is about to take on a new dimension as Paul and Barnabas are sent out by the Holy Spirit. Over the next 2-3 years these two men go to cities where the "Jesus" has never been heard. They proclaim the gospel, and the gospel does what the gospel is supposed to do: it bears fruit. The result is that lives are transformed and churches are started.

Peter's Conversion

God's plan throughout history has been to reconcile ALL peoples to back to Him. Peter had been taught from an early age that it was a sin to even enter into the home of a Gentile, so the events of this chapter baffled him. Even so, he had to decide whether or not he would say Yes to God, even though it went against everything he knew.

Ordinary People...Gospel Intentionality

After Stephen's death, all but the apostles fled Jerusalem. Satan's plan for wiping out the church seemed to be working. However, as these ordinary people were running for their lives, they encountered people who asked them why they had hope (or at least why they were running), and they were ready. They shared the gospel, and the Spirit of God continued moving powerfully. In this message we look at what it means for God to call ordinary people into His mission.

Persecution Begins

In this message we cover around four years. We see extraordinary things that God did, but we also see the beginning of persecution.

The Birth of the Church

In the second message in this series on the book of Acts, we look at the birth of the first church. As we will see, this was in no way planned by any man. This was all orchestrated by the Spirit of God, and from here on, for the next 33 years, we see a group of ordinary men and women desperately trying to keep up with what the Spirit is doing.

Introduction to Acts

Today we begin a 10-week series on the Book of Acts. Resources for the study can be downloaded on this site.

Connecting with God: Sabbath

In this final sermon in our "Connecting with God" series, Joe Currier speaks on the importance of following God's fourth commandment: "Remember the Sabbath and keep it holy."

Connecting with God: Scripture

The goal for every Christian is spiritual maturity. In this series our hope is to provide practical help so that we can all make this our aim. In this sermon we look at the role that Scripture plays .

Connecting with God: Prayer

When asked by His disciples how they should pray, Jesus responded by modeling a prayer, which we often call "The Lord's Prayer." In this message we look at this prayer phrase by phrase. Prayer should remind us of God's faithfulness, provision, sovereignty, power, and love, and should direct our hearts towards praise and thanksgiving.

Connecting with God: Intro

We are beginning a new series called "Connecting with God." In this introduction sermon, Joe Currier takes us through a story that Jesus told to His disciples. It's a story of preparation, and the lack thereof. The Upward Journey requires both preparation and intentionality.

Parenting