Christ City Cast

A plant grown without wind grows weak. James says your faith is no different — the friction of an ordinary week may be the very thing God is using to strengthen and mature both you and your faith.In week 2 of our look at James we walk through James 1:19-27: How do we move from merely agreeing with our faith to participating in it fully? We consider the work of faith and faith at work, as we grow up into Christ-likeness — not as performance, but for maturation.Questions for Reflection:How am I responding to faith? Am I quick to listen, slow to speak, slow to anger?Do I live true to myself in Christ, participating with him in the labors of my day — free to be self-giving and free from all that binds?What would tomorrow look like if I responded to faith, and lived true?Scripture References: James 1:19-27, James 1:4, James 5:7-8, Psalm 37:1-11, Romans 3:28, Philippians 2:13, Matthew 11:25-30, Matthew 13:1-23, Acts 2Voices/Quotes: Martin Luther (on the placement of James in the canon); Common Prayer: A Liturgy for Ordinary Radicals (communion liturgy)Sermon Notes & Liturgy | James: Faith at WorkTired of consumer Christianity? So are we.Come rest in Jesus. → Sundays at 10:10AM642 Brookhurst Dr, Dallas, TX 75218.Christ City Church is a faith family following Jesus together in east Dallas.Learn more at www.christcity.lifeFollow us on...IG: @christcitylife X: @christcitylifeTH: @christcitylifeFB: christcitychurchdallasYT: @christcitylife

What if work was never the thing to survive on the way to your real life — but the very medium through which you offer yourself to God?In the finale of our "Get(ing) Out of Work" series we consider a few of the ancient, yet ever new, practices that the church has used to help God's people stay in step with the Spirit during the daily rhythms of work and rest, rest and work. Drawing on Irenaeus and Hans Urs von Balthasar, the message recovers an old picture of the human being: not merely shaped clay, body and soul, but body and soul and spirit together — the complete person, bearing not just the image but the likeness of God (Genesis 1:26). To be spiritual is "by definition to be moved by the Spirit of the Logos," Christ our Beginning, our Salvation, our End.This reframes work entirely. With Dorothy Sayers, work is "not primarily a thing one does to live, but the thing one lives to do… the medium in which one offers oneself to God." We do not offer our work to God; following Paul in Romans 12, we offer our whole selves — as a living sacrifice — through it. So we stop striving to get out of work the identity, prosperity, and purpose it was never meant to supply, and instead receive from it the life we're made for: the good work God "got ready for us to do" (Ephesians 2:10).Then the practical question: how? The answer is ancient and unglamorous — habits. As Annie Dillard wrote, "How we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives… A schedule defends from chaos and whim. They are a net for catching days." Three habits to structure an ordinary day:Enter the day with the Lord's Prayer for Work — before the phone, before the lunches, perhaps before you're out of bed: "I give my whole self to you through the work you have given me this day."Recollect yourself midday with a centering prayer from Psalm 139 — breathing in, "I am…"; breathing out, "…still with you."Exit the day through the Examen — asking the Spirit where your work was out of step with Jesus, where it was in rhythm, and letting him lead you into rest.How we start matters. How we stay centered matters. And how we exit our labors into the rest of the night, made new, matters just as much.Reflection: Where was your work out of step with Jesus today, and where was it in rhythm with him?Scripture: Acts 2:1-3, 38-39 · Psalm 104:23-30 · Genesis 1:26 · Romans 12:1 · Ephesians 2:9-10 · 1 Thessalonians 5:23Voices/Quotes: Annie Dillard, The Writing Life · Dorothy Sayers · Tom Nelson, Work Matters · Irenaeus of Lyons · Hans Urs von BalthasarChrist City Church is a small faith family following Jesus together in east Dallas. We gather Sundays at 10:10 AM at 642 Brookhurst Dr., Dallas, TX 75218, in the chapel @ LHB.

What would change tomorrow if you forgot about serving others — and simply served the work?In Week 5 of our post-Easter series, we learn that for work to become a delight and fulfillment, it has to become something we submit to — not a means of getting something, but the medium through which we offer our whole selves to God. And in one of the most counterintuitive moves in the series: serving the work — not the people — is actually the only way to truly serve the people.Reflection Questions:What would be different if I "forgot the community and served the work" tomorrow?Where have I experienced the goodness of someone who was truly "serving the work"?Scripture: Colossians 3:15-24, Proverbs 3:6, Romans 12:1, John 6:38, Matthew 6:8-10Voices:Dorothy Sayers, Why Work? (1942)Julian of Norwich, Revelations of Divine LoveSermon Notes & Liturgy⁠We take a month or so every year to consider, together, the rhythm of creation according to God's design: ⁠Sabbath & WorkChrist City Church is a small faith family following Jesus together in east Dallas. We gather Sundays at 10:10 AM at the Chapel at Lake Highlands Baptist Church, 642 Brookhurst Dr., Dallas, TX 75218.Learn more at christcity.life

Matthew 2 Sermon Notes & Liturgy From Christmas to Epiphany Sunday January 4th 2026 Christ City Church

*During Advent, our gatherings look a bit different and feature more music, readings, and other seasonal liturgies, with shortened 'sermonettes.' Isaiah 12:1-6 From our annual Advent series. Sermon Notes & Liturgy Sunday December 14th, 2025 Christ City Church

*During Advent, our gatherings look a bit different and feature more music, readings, and other seasonal liturgies, with shortened 'sermonettes.' Luke 2:22-38 From our annual Advent series. Sermon Notes & Liturgy Sunday November 30th, 2025 Christ City Church

2 Samuel 5 & 7, Psalm 20, 24, 72, 89, 110, From the series Jesus Awaited Sermon Notes & Liturgy Sunday November 16th, 2025 Christ City Church